The Changing Seal
by lokinorsedeity
Summary: Satoshi and Daisuke thought that it was finally over after the Black Wings was sealed a year ago. Now they're in high school and making new friends in a new town. Too bad their former alter egos followed them and became Soul Reapers!
1. A fresh start

**A fresh start…or is it**

_Wow…I can't believe a year has already passed since the Black Wings was sealed…_Daisuke thought this as he got his things packed. A year has passed since Dark and Krad were finally sealed away; Satoshi and Risa had been seeing each other for over six months since then. Daisuke was happy for them, even if his relationship with Riku had been awkward ever since she found out that he was really the Phantom Thief Dark.

"Dai sweetie! Have you got your things packed yet? Wiz and Towa are waiting for you to come down!" called his mother from downstairs.

Today Daisuke was going to attend his first day of high school. The only problem was, the school was in another town away from his house! He was going to the same school as Satoshi; the Harada twins were (unfortunately?) going to an all-girls school thanks to their parents. Even though he knew he could still call her, he was still a tiny bit relieved at this turn of events.

"Daisuke, Satoshi's here! Hurry it up already or you'll miss your flight!" yelled his grandfather.

"Coming!" answered Daisuke quickly. He grabbed his bags and slid on the banister down the stairs, avoiding all of his mother's traps. (Even though Dark was gone, Emiko wasn't about to stop the trap course!)

"Yo Dai…what took you so long?" asked Satoshi jokingly.

"Sorry… I had a hard time trying to find my art supplies!"

"You can always get more at the new town. Oh! I almost forgot; what classroom will you be in?" asked Satoshi.

"I think it said D-3. How 'bout you?" asked Daisuke.

"I was a little worried there. Looks like we're still gonna be classmates in the same room!" laughed Satoshi.

'Satoshi has certainly become a lot easier to deal with since Krad was sealed…' thought Daisuke.

"Come on…if we don't hurry we're gonna miss our flight!" said Satoshi. They bid a fond farewell to their hometown and ran to the airport. (Their new school was very far away from their town. It was halfway across the country in a town named _Karakura_.)

"Phew! We made it…just barely!" said Daisuke, trying to catch his breath. They got onto the plane and put their bags up in the space above them. They sat down and buckled up; the plane took off from the runway half a minute later.

* * *

"I wonder how much it costs for a plane ticket…" said Daisuke aloud. 

"1,500 yen."

"Eh?! How do you…? Oh…you checked last night didn't you?" said Daisuke bored.

"Better believe it. I know you'll get homesick around the holidays, so I looked it up."

"Whatever… let's just relax until the plane lands…" said Daisuke with a yawn.

"Um, Daisuke…if you're gonna fall asleep, then you should take your gum out first. Otherwise you might swallow it by accident!" warned Satoshi.

"Ack! Too late…" said Daisuke in horror.

"You never change Daisuke…" said Satoshi amused. He took out a book which he read for the rest of the flight. The plane landed two hours later.

"Ow, ow, ow… we would have to get the only plane that didn't have a bathroom!" grumbled Daisuke.

"It's not our fault the plane was so small. Now do you see why I suggested a seat close to the row?" snorted Satoshi. (He wasn't as cramped up because he had more leg room than Daisuke!)

"So this is Karakura… I thought it'd be bigger," said Daisuke when his legs quit hurting.

"Hey, at least we didn't have to pay for the ticket."

"True. So where do we go now?" asked Daisuke.

"Let's see… it's a two-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, bathroom and a laundry room downstairs. According to the map, it should be close to the High School," said Satoshi as he checked. They headed toward the high school, and stopped when they reached the building. A girl with orange-colored hair saw them and said in a happy tone, "Oh joy! New neighbors!"

"Um…hello?" said Daisuke surprised.

"I'm Inoui Orihime, what're your names?" she said.

"I'm Niwa Daisuke and he's Hikari Satoshi," replied Daisuke, who got an irritated glance from Satoshi for calling him by his birth name even though he was adopted.

"So what's your apartment number?" asked Orihime.

"Its 5-1-3…I think," said Satoshi.

"That means you'll be across from me!" said Orihime surprised.

"Okay… So tell me, Inoui-san, where is the high school here? We couldn't find it at all!" said Daisuke.

"Are you guys freshman?"

"Yeah…we just got here a few hours ago. Are you in high school too, Inoui-san?"

"Um, you can just call me Orihime. And yup, I'm in classroom D-3!"

'Oh hell no! We're gonna be stuck with this girl both during _and_ after school!' thought Satoshi in horror as he said, "I guess that means we'll be classmates."

"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then. I gotta go meet Tatsuki! It was nice to meet you!" said Orihime as she spotted a black-haired girl who they assumed was 'Tatsuki'.

* * *

"Okay, that was _weird_!" 

"Define weird when it comes to us," Satoshi said irritably.

"Touché… so do you have the keys or what?"

"No… we have to get them from the manager. And before you even think of suggesting it; _you are NOT, I repeat NOT to pick the lock before we get the keys!!!!_" said Satoshi sternly.

"You don't need to worry 'bout that. I wasn't in the mood to hunt down the picks in my bag anyway. Let's get this over with…" said Daisuke.

They got the keys as well as a long list of rules for the apartment. They went in and quickly put their things away. They then decided to crash for the night; jetlag had set in while they were unpacking.

_

* * *

Daisuke felt something inside him…something he hadn't felt in months. He assumed it was relief…relief for finally having a chance to forget what happened with Dark and Krad and get past the loneliness. Unlike Satoshi, he actually got along with his other half; that is, when Dark wasn't acting like his usual perverted self! _

_He sighed…for some reason he still couldn't get over the fact that Dark was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. He lay there for over an hour before he finally fell fast asleep. He never heard the surprised yelp or a voice curse as it realized where it was! _

_The intruder looked around with his eyes…the minute he saw the red-haired teen he held back a curse. How did he get here? He was supposed to be SEALED along with his other self; what had happened?!_

------

Satoshi woke up the next morning in a tired daze. He hadn't felt like this since…since his homicidal alter ego/family curse was around. He didn't fully wake up until a half-hour later; Daisuke had been up an hour earlier than him and had started breakfast. He looked up at his blue-haired friend and said, "You look like something the cat dragged in. Rough night?"

------

"I don't know. All I know is that I haven't felt this tired since Krad was still around. I thought my low-blood pressure was caused by that homicidal bastard sharing the same body…" said Satoshi bored.

"Woah… Never mind. By the way, do you know where our new school uniforms are? I can't seem to find them!" said Daisuke, changing the subject.

"They were in my bag… Do you even know what they look like?" said Satoshi amused.

"Not really. I thought they'd be the same as our old ones," admitted Daisuke.

"They're grey all over and come with a white shirt which you can't see 'cause it goes underneath. I'm just glad that they don't make us wear those stupid ties…"

"Oh… so when are we supposed to be at school?"

"We go tomorrow. Freshmen are given a two-day waiting period if they're not local. Right now we need to go get some groceries for the week. Did you happen to see any stores while we were searching yesterday?"

"No…but I know someone who can give us directions!" said Daisuke. He tried not to laugh at the look on Satoshi's face when he said this.

"Oh no…not that girl we met yesterday!" groaned Satoshi.

"I wasn't talking 'bout Orihime, I was referring to Towa!" laughed Daisuke. Satoshi gave a sigh of relief.

"Oy! Towa-chan!" called Daisuke.

"What is it, Daisuke?" asked Towa, who was in her bird form.

"Do you think you can give us directions to a grocery store nearby? We need to get some food for the week," asked Daisuke politely.

"Sure thing Daisuke! Let's see…there are three stores nearby. There's a store three blocks away, but it's a convenience store with little selections. There's a shop that has a variety of items about four blocks south of here, though it's hard to find due to its small size. Then there is a supermarket…but it's over twelve blocks away," said Towa.

"So we have to choose from a convenience store with almost no selection and a small store that hard to find but has a variety… I guess we'll have to go to the hard-to-find store. Convenience stores usually have nothing but junk food anyway," said Satoshi finally.

"We'll leave after breakfast. Hey, Towa-chan, you wanna come with us?" asked Daisuke.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for people to see Towa in her bird or human forms. They might get the wrong idea," warned Satoshi.

"He has a point Daisuke. Besides, I wanted to take a look around the area anyway. What about you Wiz?" asked Towa. Wiz answered by jumping on Daisuke's head happily.

"Okay…so Wiz is tagging along. Who does the dishes today, Satoshi?" asked Daisuke.

"We'll do those after we get back. The world won't end if we leave a few dirty plates in the sink for an hour or so," joked Satoshi. They left the house and looked around while they searched for the shop Towa mentioned. It took them an hour just to find it; Towa wasn't kidding when she said it was hard to find!

* * *

**(Author's note: the reason why they brought chewing gum on the plane is because it helps your ears to pop when you reach high altitudes. Trust me when I say that it's painful if your eyes feel water-logged midair and don't pop! I know this from first hand experience on a trip to my aunt's house in Washington! And by Washington I mean the STATE not the capital!)**


	2. Urahara's Store

**Urahara's store**

"Hey Satoshi, do you think this is the place?" asked Daisuke.

"Must be…We checked everywhere else!" said Satoshi as he spotted the sign above the doors.

"Urahara…Shoten. Should we go in?" asked Daisuke.

"Might as well. If this isn't the store we can always ask if they know where it is," said Satoshi with a shrug. They went to the store and were greeted by the manager.

"Welcome to Urahara Shoten! What can I do for ya?" he said cheerfully.

"Um…we came to get some groceries. We're new here so we didn't know where the store was…" said Daisuke nervously. Wiz popped his head up with his usual cry of, "Kyu!"

"Cool rabbit. What's his name?" asked the manager.

"Wiz," replied Daisuke automatically.

"So you two are new here, eh? Where did you come from?" he asked. Before they could answer him, a second man wearing glasses came and told the manager something he considered important.

* * *

"_Sir…it appears two of our spare Gigai have gone missing!"_

"Tessai, are you sure you checked everywhere? They couldn't have gotten up on their own and walked off… unless somebody put the Gikongan in them."

"I checked all the usual places that we put them. They're not there."

"Sorry 'bout that. Seems something went missing again. So where did you say you were from?"

"Oh, we came from a small coastal town about half-way across the country," said Satoshi vaguely. He couldn't help but get the feeling that the manager was suspicious of them.

"Really? What's the name?" he asked. Satoshi told him the name and the feeling that they were under suspicion passed…for the moment.

"I think I've heard of that town. Isn't that where the infamous Phantom Dark lived?"

"Yeah…but he's gone now. He hasn't taken anything since that earthquake incident last year," said Daisuke vaguely.

"Huh… well there's a limit on how much yen you can spend if you don't have the money at the moment," he said, changing the subject.

"That's good to know…" said Satoshi.

"The limit is 500 yen, anything over and you got to pay the full price."

"That sounds reasonable enough," said Daisuke.

"If you need any help finding anything, you can ask Jinta or Ururu. If you'll excuse me, I need to look into something," he said.

"Kisuke-san… Jinta's picking on me again!" said Ururu upset. When 'Jinta' came into view and continued his usual torment of Ururu, Wiz came to her rescue.

"WHA! What's with this furry thing?!" yelped Jinta in surprise.

"Wiz…cut that out!" said Daisuke.

"Kyu…" said Wiz before he jumped onto the girl's shoulder.

"Thank you…Wiz wasn't it?" asked Ururu; Daisuke nodded.

* * *

They left the store with quite a few bags full of food. (Wiz was happy because Ururu gave him some strawberries.) When they got back, they were greeted by a disturbing sight. Satoshi made sure to lock the door before they left…but now it was unlocked and the dishes that were in the sink before were washed and put away!

"What the…?! I know I locked that door!" said Satoshi in shock.

"And I know when we left the dishes were in the sink waiting to be washed! What is going on?" said Daisuke, equally surprised.

After they put the groceries away they investigated the mystery. Towa came back around nightfall (she had gotten lost and had a hard time finding her way back!)

"I don't get it. The door was locked and the dishes were in the sink…we come back and the door is unlocked and the dishes put away. It couldn't have been Towa, she got lost looking around…Orihime doesn't have the keys to our apartment; not to mention she was at the school!" said Satoshi, going over what had just occurred.

"And I seriously doubt the manager would come up just to wash our dishes…" snorted Daisuke.

"Why don't we forget about it and go get something to eat?" suggested Towa.

"She's right… Whoever it was didn't take anything, so we might as well let it slide for now. Come on Dai; let's go get something to eat. What're you in the mood for Towa? We'll bring you and Wiz something back," said Satoshi.

------

"I don't get it… No of us put a Gikongan into those bodies, and I don't think a Soul Reaper would steal a Gigai if they came here…so where are they?" said Urahara is confusion.

"I have no idea, Urahara-san," said Tessai.

"What do we do now Kisuke-san?" asked Ururu.

"We'll wait and see if they turn up later. If anything else goes missing, tell me immediately."

"Hai!" the others responded. They immediately went back to their usual routine for the day. Urahara mused, 'This can't be a coincidence. Two new kids come into town on the same night two of our spare Gigai go missing? I hope there isn't a connection between this…'

------

While all this happened, two souls with wings sat on a ledge glaring at each other; they had each agreed to a truce…for now. The soul with black wings said, "Why? Why were we set free from the seal? We should still be inside the mirror!"

"How the hell should I know?! The real question you should be asking, _Dark Mousy_, is what do we do next? The humans have already noticed what you pulled at the apartment!" said the white winged soul.

"So what if the noticed! That nothing compared to the stunt you pulled by stealing those empty bodies! And anyway, I already had our next move thought out," said Dark.

"Let me guess… we enroll in our former host's high school?" snorted Krad.

"Exactly… I don't know why, but this place makes me real uneasy. We can use those bodies you nicked to keep an eye on Dai and Satoshi. Let's hope they don't recognize us!" said Dark quietly.

"That shouldn't be a problem… I found something interesting before I took those things," said Krad with a shrug.

"What?"

"Well for starters, they aren't actual human bodies. I think the term I heard them use was 'Gigai' or something. I also overheard someone say that the Gigai can be custom fit to whoever uses it."

"You're kidding! So that's why you took them from that shop!" said Dark impressed.

"That's what I overheard them say. Now we need to fit them to our forms and try to fit in."

"Hold on a minute…! We can't have bodies that match our old ones! They'll recognize us instantly!" said Dark quickly.

"I didn't think of that. So we'll just make them similar enough for us to feel comfortable in them. That just leaves the problem of fitting in with the humans without them noticing something's wrong."

"That's going to be the easy part actually…"

"What're you talking about?! It may be easy for you…you're used to pretending you're someone else! I on the other hand, have never even considered trying that!" said Krad angrily.

"Chill…there's a trick to it that's easy to learn!" laughed Dark.

"What?"

"Don't try to fit in…it has to happen naturally. If you try to fit in too hard then they'll start to get suspicious. Just act naturally…er, almost naturally in your case….and they won't suspect a thing!"

"What do you mean by 'almost naturally'?!"

"You can't go around like you used to do before we were sealed. The minute you do that Satoshi will realize the truth and we're screwed!"

"How am I supposed to do that? I don't know anything about acting like I'm someone else…"

"Just try to be friendly…not too friendly mind you. If Satoshi and Daisuke see you acting nicer towards others, especially themselves, they won't suspect you're actually Krad."

"In that case…you're gonna have to change your usual behavior too."

"What do ya mean? I can get along with people easy. It's you who has a 'lone wolf' complex!" snorted Dark.

"Oh please… I mean your Tamer will recognize you the minute you start acting perverted again. Or did you forget about what happened between you and your precious Riku?" snickered Krad.

"Ouch…now that was low…"

"There is another thing we need to do in order to keep them from the truth. We can't go around saying our names are Krad and Dark. Kokoyoko is out of the question too."

"Good point… So what alias will you use?" asked Dark.

"I was thinking of Kurama…or something similar."

"I'm going with Drake."

"Drake?! They'll see through that in an instant!"

"Not quite. Drake may be similar, but it also has another meaning. A drake is also known as a _dragon_."

"And you honestly think that will throw them off?" said Krad in surprise.

"Yes…they would never expect me to go by a name that can also mean dragon. Now, what'll be our last name? I don't think that Hikari or Niwa would be a good idea…"

"True…Hiwatari is _definitely_ out of the question…"

"How does 'Kubo' sound?"

"Kubo?"

"Yeah…I saw this graphic novel once and the author's name was Tite Kubo. I think it was called 'Bleach' or something…"

"Why not?" shrugged Krad.

"So now we just have to design out appearance. Personally I'm gonna go with black hair and dark blue eyes. What about you?"

"Brown with grey eyes."

"Brown and grey? How about silver and grey? They don't clash too much."

"Fine…I'll go with white hair and green-blue eyes. And no laughing Drake!"

"So you want to use the alias right away, eh?"

"We might as well get used to using them now…"

"Wait…if we both use the same last name, they'll want to know if we're related," said Drake as he remembered this fact.

"We'll just say we're twins or distant cousins…"

"Twins would sound better…not to mention it's more believable."

* * *

"All right class…we have four students who are new in town today," said the teacher.

'Four students? I thought Daisuke and Satoshi were the only out-of-town students!' Orihime thought.

"Will you please come in?"

Four boys entered the room. The first was a red head whose most noticeable feature was his red eyes. The second was a blue-haired, blue-eyed boy with a distant demeanor. The third was a black haired boy with deep blue eyes and a devil-may-care-grin. The last one was a white haired boy with blue-green eyes.

"Everyone, meet your new classmates," said the teacher, who let them introduce themselves.

"My name is Niwa, Daisuke. Nice to meet you!" said the red-head.

"I'm Hikari, Satoshi," said the blue-haired boy with a pause.

"Name's Kubo, Drake," said the black haired boy.

"Kubo, Kurama," finished the white haired boy.

"You may take any seat that is empty boys…"


	3. Combining new and old magic

**Combining new and old magic**

"So you guys are new to town?" said Orihime.

"Yeah…me and Kurama were home-schooled our entire life. This is our first time in an actual school," said Drake.

_-----_

_**Nice cover story.**_

**It's the only thing that I could come up with last night.**

-----

"So where do you and Kurama live, Drake? Daisuke and Satoshi live across from me."

"We're still getting used to this town, so we don't really remember the address," said Kurama quickly.

_-----_

**You're not to bad at cover stories either, Kurama.**

_**Shut up…**_

-----

"So are you two related or something?" asked an orange-haired boy with a 'back-off' attitude.

"We're fraternal twins," said Drake with ease.

"Daisuke…do those two seem familiar to you?" whispered Satoshi.

"You think so too?! I wonder why…"

"I don't know…but I don't trust them. Especially that white-haired guy."

"He does seem kinda edgy…" admitted Daisuke.

"So why did you and Hikari come to our school?" asked the orange haired kid, turning to them.

"The local high school was sorta…well it was destroyed during an earthquake. My parents thought it would be a good idea if I went away to a new town for a while to get over what happened last year," said Daisuke.

"And my step-father was killed during the earthquake, so I decided to join Daisuke," said Satoshi.

"Huh…oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki; my family runs the local clinic. The big guy behind me is Chad," said the orange haired boy. The others introduced themselves… (excluding a black-haired boy with glasses)…and they quickly learned more about the town.

* * *

When Daisuke and Satoshi went home, they were joined by Orihime who had gone shopping for ingredients to make dinner. The minute they found out what she had gotten, they declined her offer to share the meal. Wiz pounced on Daisuke the second the door opened up. Satoshi instinctively ducked; Daisuke got the full force of the attack. 

"I think he's hungry Dai…" chuckled Satoshi. Daisuke got up and made Wiz a snack which would hold him until dinner.

The two then discussed the other new students. They couldn't figure out why they seemed so familiar, but they were sure that they were hiding something.

"You know, that Kurama guy reminds me of Krad for some reason…" said Satoshi.

"Yeah…I know what you mean…" said Daisuke quietly.

"You still haven't gotten over the fact that Dark is gone…" Satoshi said irritated. (He had gotten used to losing Krad a week after it happened. Same with losing his step-father.)

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss him and those blasted traps mom used to set for me everyday…"

"Daisuke, get over it already! Dark is gone and there's nothing you can do (short of breaking the seal and setting both free again) to change that!" said Satoshi annoyed.

"You may have gotten over it, but I'm still trying to forget the whole thing! Or need I remind you of the fact that if it weren't for me you would have died that night?!" growled Daisuke angrily.

"You know what; let's just drop the subject for tonight. We shouldn't be at each others throats after only being here for three days," sighed Satoshi.

"Good point…" said Daisuke.

* * *

"So Kurama, what's your verdict? Do ya think they suspect we're really the souls of the Black Wings or not?" joked Drake. 

"Actually, I bet they just got a feeling that we're not really humans. They don't know yet; and Satoshi won't risk confronting us without more proof," said Kurama.

"Hey, what are the chances of that store owner who had these weird shells coming after us?" said Drake.

"Why? It's not like he can find us or anything," said Kurama.

"I'm just saying…what do we do if he finds out that we took the Gigai or whatever they're called?"

"Don't tell me that the store owner is nearby and knows who took them!" said Kurama, who knew that was the most likely reason Drake brought it up.

"Nah…that thought just came to me out of nowhere for some reason. But seriously, what are we gonna do if that actually happens?"

"Lie like dogs?"

"And if he knows we're lying? We should think of a strategy before that happens…"

"I wonder…do you think we can still use our wings?" said Kurama.

"One way to find out… but we better make sure we don't wreak the outfit; the last thing we need is explaining what happened to these," said Drake.

They took off the uniforms and then concentrated on bringing out their wings. They came out without a problem; this was both a relief…and a bad idea. By unleashing their wings they had unwittingly let loose Hikari magic; both Daisuke and Satoshi immediately went to find the source. Luckily, there weren't any feathers to be found.

* * *

"I don't get it… I'm sure that was my family's magic just now!" said Satoshi surprised. 

"But why would it be here of all places? You don't think that one of the Hikari art pieces is around, do you?" asked Daisuke nervously.

"Definitely not…believe me, I checked before we even came here. Besides, that didn't feel like the usual kind of magic. It was a little too familiar, yet I can't remember why!"

"Do you think we just imagined it? Maybe we really _did _need to get away from our home…" said Daisuke.

"You're probably right… Maybe we really missed our old way of doing things and just imagined that burst," said Satoshi confused. They headed back to the apartment and didn't think twice about the magic they both felt; though they did stay on guard for a few days because of it.

-----

"Woah…that was too close!" said Drake.

"It figures they'd sense us releasing our wings again. We were lucky this time…but next time we might blow everything!"

"How about we don't try that again unless we have no other choice? And no using magic either," said Drake.

"Almost no magic you mean. We still need to find somewhere to live, remember?"

"Oh…I completely forgot about that," admitted Drake.

They found a good place nearby and stayed there until they could find someplace better. They continued with the charade for over two weeks straight; which threw Daisuke and Satoshi completely off the truth. Everything was going fine until they came face-to-face with a certain monster with a hole in its chest and a white mask.

* * *

"What the hell is that thing?!" they both exclaimed. The monster turned at their voice; the moment it realized they could see it, it attacked! They dodged the initial strike and the others following it. Then someone wearing a black and white samurai outfit (complete with sword) appeared out of nowhere and struck the creature with full force; it quickly became apparent that the girl was specifically aiming at the thing's head. She couldn't get a clear shot due to the fact that she kept making sure that the two weren't in her way. She finally destroyed the thing using a spell they had never heard before! 

_**Ruler,**_

_**The mask of blood and flesh,**_

_**All things in the universe that fly,**_

_**That which names all,**_

_**In the name of truth and temperance,**_

_**Dig your claws into the walls of sinless dreams!**_

_**Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!  
**_

Her attack nailed the creature directly on the mask which split cleanly in two. They watched in amazement as the monster vanished piece-by-tiny-piece! The girl vanished when she found that they weren't wayward spirits.

"What…was _that_ all about?!" said Drake in disbelief.

"I don't know…but we may have found a way to use magic and NOT alert our former Tamers!" said Kurama. He remembered every word the girl had used; he quickly wrote it down before he forgot it.

They headed back to their house, still trying to figure out what had actually happened. They went to school and acted like nothing had actually happened. But when Keigo asked if they wanted to hang out after school that day, they declined. They went straight home and tried to actually perform the spell the girl used to attack the creature. (No luck either!)

-----

"I don't get it… What did she do that we haven't tried?" said Kurama confuse and irritated.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her magic is different than what we're used too…" said Drake.

"That's probably the reason… How are we gonna be able to use our magic if we can't adapt to different kinds?!"

"I think I have an idea…" said Drake as took out a black feather.

"Drake! What're you doing?! If you use that…!" said Kurama in disbelief.

"Who said I was gonna use my magic? I just wanted to see if combining the two would work…at least until we get used to that kind of spell," replied Drake. As he held the feather at arms length, he slowly repeated the spell.

**Ruler,**

**The mask of blood and flesh,**

**All things in the universe that fly,**

**That which names all,**

**In the name of truth and temperance,**

**Dig your claws into the walls of sinless dreams!**

**Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!**

At first nothing happened…then three seconds later a blast identical to the girl's erupted out of Drake's hand! It flew through the window, out of the room and hit one of the monsters with a hole in its chest along with a white mask directly on the head! The mask disintegrated before the rest of it vanished.

"Woah…" said Drake in shock.

"Well, it looks like you solved our little problem with unfamiliar magic!" laughed Kurama.

Drake grinned as he stood up (he fell back from the backlash) and said, "Wanna try it?"

How were they to know that by using a high-level Soul Reaper spell had caused the Soul Society to become aware of their existence? They especially caught the attention of Urahara, the manager of the store that Krad had originally took the bodies from. The moment he saw the spell hit a Hollow the second it appeared, he knew that whoever took the missing Gigai had revealed themselves at last.

"So there they are…" he murmured as he went inside.


	4. Beware of Soul Reapers

**Beware of Soul Reapers**

It was almost a full week after the first successful Hikari/unknown magic combo. Kurama and Drake were going to meet up with Tatsuki at the dojo. Suddenly, Drake gets a feeling from behind and yells "DUCK!" Kurama narrowly avoids what looks like a cane. Drake stands up and glares at the attacker.

"What was that for?!" he growled angrily.

"Huh…I missed," said Urahara amused.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear… What was that for?!"

"I think you know…after all, you did steal from my store a few weeks back," said Urahara.

"What are you talking about? I've never been to your store! I don't even know the name or where it is!" protested Drake.

"Same here," said Kurama.

"If that's true, then who shot off that high-level Shinigami spell?"

"Shinigami…Spell? I don't know what that is, do you bro?" said Kurama.

"Not a clue," shrugged Drake.

"Let me refresh your memory…the spell I saw shot off was Bakudo number 33: Pale Fire Crash. Ring any bells?" said Urahara. His eyes shot up in amusement when he saw their reaction.

"Oh, you meant _that_ spell. I was the one who shot that…I still can't believe my little experiment with combining magic actually worked," said Drake.

"Combining magic? That spell doesn't use magic; it uses spiritual energy," said Urahara confused.

"Yeah…we couldn't get it to work for us so he came up with the idea of using magic we _do_ know how to use and combined the two. The next time he tried it, it actually worked for a change," said Kurama.

"So that blast was an accident?" said Urahara.

"Pretty much, yeah. We didn't know if it would actually work, but he figured it was worth a shot…"

"You do know that by using that spell you made yourself known to the Soul Society, right?" said Urahara.

"What's the Soul Society?" they said in unison.

"You two have no idea of how much trouble you're in, do you?"

"No…uh-oh…We gotta get going or Tatsuki will have both our hides for being late to class!" said Kurama as he looked at his watch.

"What happens if you don't show up at all?"

"Tatsuki will make sure we never hear the end of it for a week straight. And believe me when I say it's a nightmare. Every time she sees us she'll start ragging on us because we missed class!"

"And if you have a valid excuse?"

"She'll still rag on us…though not as much."

"I see… Unfortunately, you two will have to come with me," said Urahara.

"WHAT! Not a chance in hell!" said Drake angrily.

"Well you can either come with me or you can deal with the Soul Reapers who are sure to come after you for using the spell. Your choice."

"Um, Drake…? We might as well go with him…" said Kurama nervously.

"Why…? Wait, let me guess…"

"Class started five minutes ago. At least if we go with him Tatsuki won't get on us too badly…"

"Fine… we'll come with you. But if you try to hit either of us with that cane again we're gone!" said Drake annoyed.

"Fair enough…follow me boys," said Urahara cheerfully.

* * *

"Urahara-san…are they the ones who…?" said Tessai.

"I still haven't figured it out if it was them. What I do know is that they can shoot a high-level Bakudo even though they aren't Shinigami."

"Should I close the store early sir?"

"It would probably be a better idea to do that. I have a feeling that _they'll _be knocking at the door soon enough anyway," said Urahara.

They went into a room and sat down. Urahara turned to them and said, "Why don't you two start by telling me where you learned that spell."

"Well, there was this weird monster thing with a white mask and a hole in its chest that attacked us. We dodged it as long as we could when this girl in a black and white samurai outfit started going at the monster. She was having trouble killing it and she used that spell," explained Drake.

"I paid attention long enough and wrote down the spell, word for word. We started trying it out to see if we could use it to and didn't have much luck until he came up with the idea of combining magic. And that's pretty much it," finished Kurama.

"So you two were saved by a Soul Reaper who used a spell and you decided to copy her? What did you mean when you said 'combining magic'?" asked Urahara.

"Well, we're more used to magic than whatever the spell uses. I figured if we were having so much trouble over a simple spell that it was worth the risk of combining the two."

"So you two have no idea of how to use spells without combining them with your own magic?"

"Pretty much…though we have managed to use Pale Fire Crash without it, but it's power is very weak."

"Would you like to know what you need in order to cast it properly?" asked Urahara.

"Sure…"

"Do you know what 'spirit energy' is?"

"Not a clue…"

"Spirit energy is what most people would call psychic. Those with a high enough concentration of it can even see the souls that the Soul Reapers haven't gotten to yet."

"Wait a minute… You mean those people I see floating around are really the souls of the dead?!" said Drake in disbelief.

"What did you think they were?"

"A trick of the light…or something."

"Moving on… The power that Soul Reapers use to cast spells, such as the Pale Fire Crash, is called Spirit energy. And judging by the looks of it, I'd say your concentration of energy rivals Ichigo."

"Oh joy…"

"Anyway, in shinigami, the amount of spirit energy is equal to their life force. They use all that up and they die."

"Wait a minute. So our energy is tied to our life force energy?!" said Kurama surprised.

"Yes… Why are you two looking at each other like that?" asked Urahara suspiciously.

"Um…it's nothing really…" said Kurama nervously.

"Spit it out… What are you hiding?"

"It's just…if what you're saying is true…then that would mean our spirit energy is literally unlimited," said Drake cautiously.

"That would be impossible. No human can have unlimited spirit energy…"

"Well, actually…we aren't human at all. We never have been…" said Kurama.

"So you two really _were _the ones who stole those Gigai…"

"That was his doing, _not _mine…" said Drake with a look at his opposite.

"So what are you really? Two lost souls looking for a new body or something?" joked Urahara.

"Close… we were created by humans, but that doesn't mean we ever were human."

"Created?"

"We… We were created by a clan known as the Hikari. Their final work was centered on one goal…to give an actual soul to their artwork."

"So you two are really a painting?" asked Urahara, not believing a word of it.

"Give the clan some credit… we weren't created by a painting! More like something that reflects things…" said Drake vaguely.

"Our real name is Kokoyoko, or The Black Wings."

"So what do you two really look like?"

"We'd show you but…we don't want or former Tamers to know we're back," said Kurama.

"Tamers?"

"Tamers…the humans who had our personality locked in their DNA until they reach a certain age. Although in his case… He didn't have that age limit like me. He could come out almost any time he wants to; though the humans generally resist him when he tries."

"So basically you two are an art piece that reflects something and your true name is the Black Wings. You were locked inside certain DNA and could come out whenever you want to. And you don't want your last Tamers to find out you're back again."

"Are you kidding?! I'm amazed that we've been able to keep them from finding out for as long as we have!" snorted Kurama.

_-----_

_Kurama…simmer down! If you lose your temper now, you'll reawaken your wings and alert them!!!!_

_-----_

"Well…since I have no way of knowing whether you two are telling the truth or making this up, I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and let the Soul Reapers find you…" grumbled Urahara.

"Feh…like they could ever catch me. The police have tried that and not ONCE have they ever succeeded," retorted Drake.

_-----_

_Now who needs to chill? If you keep that up he'll figure out your other name and we'd be screwed!_

_-----_

They left the shop that night and went straight home. Urahara was still irritated about what he had heard; he didn't think that they were telling the truth at all. When they got to school, they were greeted by an unhappy Tatsuki.

"Hey, don't blame us! It wasn't our fault we missed class…for once," said Kurama quickly.

"Some weird guy tried to attack us with his cane or something and wouldn't leave us alone. He seemed to think we took something of his for some reason," shrugged Drake. This calmed Tatsuki down enough to not pound them into a pulp.

"IF what you're saying is true, then what did he look like?" asked Ichigo. Kurama took out a piece of paper and drew a rough sketch of the shop owner. Satoshi took one look at the drawing and said, "Wait a minute… You were attacked by Urahara-san?!"

"You know this nut-job?" said Drake in surprise.

"Yeah… we get our groceries from his shop," said Daisuke.

* * *

During lunch, Daisuke and Satoshi discussed what Drake and Kurama claimed had occurred.

"It doesn't make any sense… Why would Urahara-san attack Drake and his brother?" said Satoshi.

"Why don't we go there after school and ask him?" suggested Daisuke.

"Good idea. We need to get to the bottom of this…"

"Welcome to Urahara Shoten! What can I do for ya today?" said Urahara cheerfully.

"We need to talk," said Satoshi.

"What about?"

"Two of our classmates said you tried to attack them for no reason."

"Wait a minute…you wouldn't happen to be referring to a white-haired kid and a black haired boy would you?"

"Drake and Kurama… So were they telling the truth or not?" said Daisuke.

"I highly doubt that they even know what the word truth means…" snorted Urahara.

"What makes you say that?"

"I confronted them yesterday because I saw a blast of something a week ago. I figured whoever shot that were the ones who took the items from the store the day you two first walked in," said Urahara.

"So you did confront them."

"Yeah… they agreed to come and have a chat in my store and according to the black-haired kid, his brother was the thief."

"The black-haired kid is Drake and the white one is his twin Kurama," said Daisuke.

"Anyway, we were talking about something and then they went and made some wild story about never being human to begin with," snorted Urahara.

"What…?" said Satoshi, thinking he hadn't heard correctly.

"They went on about how their real name was the Black Wings and that they were really an art piece that reflected something… a pack of lies if you ask me," said Urahara.

"Did…did you just say that they called themselves the Black Wings?!" said Satoshi in horror.

"You don't think…"

"We better call your family and have them check the seal on that mirror…" said Satoshi worried.

"What's going on? Was it something I said?"

"Um…not exactly. It's just that we really need to make sure they're telling the truth about who they really are," said Daisuke vaguely.

* * *

"_Hello, Niwa residence… Dai-chan, what's wrong? You sound upset…did something happen?" _asked his mother concerned.

"Mom, can you check the seal on the Black Wings for us? We really need to double-check that it's still there…" said Daisuke worriedly.

"_Daisuke sweetie…what happened down there? Why do you want us to check the seal?"_ asked his father.

"I don't have time to explain…it's just we'd really appreciate you checking it for us. Something came up around here that's given us a reasonable suspicion that the seal has slipped or worse, broken," said Satoshi.

"_We'll go check then. We'll call you when we get back," _said Emiko.

"Thanks mom…bye," said Daisuke before he hung up.

"I really hope that they find the seal exactly like it was when we put it on…" said Satoshi concerned.


	5. Fear becomes Reality

**Fear becomes reality**

"_Daisuke sweetie…we checked the seal like you asked…"_

"Mom…did something happen to it?!" said Daisuke with a mixed feeling of hope and worry.

"_The seal looks like it's still intact…but…We didn't feel any magic at all from it. Even with the seal on we could always feel the magic's pulse. Be on your guard…I don't like this at all,"_ said Daichi.

"Thanks Grandpa… I'll be sure to tell Satoshi the news," said Daisuke as he hung up.

"We have a problem…" said Daisuke worried.

-----

Five minutes later…

"WHAT!!!!!" yelped Satoshi in complete disbelief.

"They said that the magic has completely vanished from the mirror. Even with the seal on it, they should've felt something."

"Oh no… You know what this could mean, don't you?! Krad might be back!" said Satoshi upset.

"Don't worry… If they really were set free, it would mean Dark is out too. You know he won't let Krad do anything too deadly…" said Daisuke, trying to calm Satoshi.

"Daisuke…if they _are _back… We need to find them now!"

"But we would have known if they were back…wouldn't we? I mean, Krad was always anti-social and Dark's a shameless perverted playboy/thief… Wouldn't they have revealed themselves by now?"

"What if they have and we didn't realize it? Remember a few days after we moved here? We felt that unmistakable pulse of Hikari magic come out of nowhere…"

"But you said it yourself that it was our imagination…"

"And what about the items Urahara-san said were taken? What if they were bodies that they could take over and disguise themselves?!"

"Calm down!!!!" said Daisuke sternly. Satoshi looked at him in shock…he had never heard the redhead sound so serious before!

"Satoshi, if that's the case…then we should act like we still don't know anything. If they figure out that we know about the seal…"

"You're right… Um, Towa-chan?"

"Yes, Satoshi?"

"Do you think you could search for any sign of Krad or Dark?"

"Sure…but they were sealed, weren't they?"

"It would calm my nerves to know if whether they are or not in this town…"

"Okay…" said Towa as she went into a trance; she snapped out of it five seconds later with a look of confusion.

* * *

"That's strange…"

"What?!"

"I felt a trace of the two of them together; but it's already a few weeks old, so I can't follow it."

"Oh no… So it _was_ Hikari magic we felt!" groaned Satoshi.

-----

"Ohayo, Satoshi-kun and Dai-kun!" said Orihime cheerfully. She noticed that they weren't their usual selves today.

"Ohayo…Orihime…" said Satoshi tiredly.

"You look like you didn't get any sleep… Did something happen?" asked Tatsuki.

"Its nothing… Satoshi has low blood pressure is all and he just got up 15 minutes ago. He'll be back to normal in another 15 minutes…" said Daisuke quickly.

"Hey, Hikari-san…you don't look so great. Did you stay up all night studying or something?" asked Drake.

"Something like that…" mumbled Satoshi. He was back to his usual self by the time class began for the day. He and Daisuke went home to prepare for the test the next morning. Satoshi came to school the next day looking _worse _than yesterday…if that was even possible.

"Yikes…Hikari-san, you gotta lay off the all-nighters!" said Ichigo surprised.

"I'll…keep…that…in mind," replied Satoshi wearily. As he sat down at his desk, he noticed something off about Drake. _He was reading the book upside down._

It was around this time that everyone heard a loud explosion outside! They all went to the windows…only a few actually saw the creature that caused it. Another explosion went off; this time it was on the opposite side of the school. These explosions continued for over half an hour before the principal finally announced that school would end early due to the blasts. Drake and Kurama went straight home…as did Satoshi, who crashed onto the bed as soon as he entered the door.

Daisuke was concerned about Satoshi's health…he was getting worse every day since they found out about the seal.

"Satoshi…what's happening to you…?" whispered Daisuke as he covered his friend and closed the door.

* * *

"Drake… is it me or has Satoshi started looking worse than usual?" asked Kurama with concern.

"I think…I think they found out that we might be back; knowing Satoshi, he's probably so worried that you will take control of his body like you used to and ruin everything he's done since that seal was activated."

"Do you think that if I revealed myself to him that he'd get better?"

"That would make it worse! Satoshi always despised you, remember? If he finds out you really _are _back, he won't rest until you're back behind the seal."

"Then what do we…?"

"Nothing for now. Let's wait and see if this'll blow over first," suggested Drake.

-----

Too bad they didn't have the chance to let things settle back down again; the Soul Society had finally caught wind of their little…magic experiment and one of the Captains in particular was interested in getting his hands on the two. He sent three of his squads to the human world. Their mission: locate and capture the two boys who could use the Pale Fire Crash. Drake was listening to his tunes and minding his own business when he instinctively ducked for no reason. He was so caught up in his book that he paid no attention to what was happening around him. Several times he ducked and dodged without any reason. The moment he entered his house, however, was when things really got interesting. The Soul Reapers closed in on the house, thinking that they'd have less trouble capturing him in a smaller area where he couldn't avoid their attacks. They went to the door and tried opening it; they could see the boy on a couch, still reading. The door didn't budge… Drake took off his headphones and closed his book. He went to the door and opened it saying… "Um…is anyone out there?"

He stared right at them and acted as though he didn't see anyone. He shrugged and closed the door, not bothering to lock it. They tried a second time; again, it refused to budge.

"What is with this damn door?!" grumbled one of the Shinigami. It seems someone heard him.

"You're wastin' your time if you're trying to break in…" snickered Drake. They heard the other boy inside laugh at the comment.

This amusing onslaught continued for a week straight before it finally ended. (Seems someone told the higher-ups that the Twelfth Division captain was up to no good again!)

* * *

"And here I was wondering when they'd realize it was pointless…" joked Drake.

"Looks like you're previous career as a Phantom Thief sure came in handy…for once," retorted Kurama.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're the one people should call if they want to make their house thief-proof. You know how the saying goes right?"

"It takes one to know one… Very funny, ha-ha, it is to laugh…" snorted Drake.

"What's wrong? You're not acting like you usually do Drake…"

"I…I don't know. I wonder if these bodies are doing something to us. I've noticed that we're both a lot different than before…"

"How so?" asked Kurama.

"Well… I've started reading more and quit looking at girls. Not to mention the fact that Ishida and I are competing against each other for the highest grades in the class…"

"Huh…I did notice that your scores were higher than mine last time around, but I didn't think anything of it…"

"And you…you've changed more than I have…"

"What're you talking about?! I'm still me, aren't I?" retorted Kurama in shock.

"Maybe…but, I have noticed that you're a hell of a lot easier to be around than before…and you're nicer to everyone and actually show genuine concern for others."

"So?"

"Don't you remember before? Before you used to be known as the Homicidal Blond, now… I barely even recognize you."

"Huh…you're right, I have been nicer to people, especially Satoshi…"

"Why…? Why are we changing like this?" murmured Drake.

"We…we must be fitting into the roles that we came up with to fool Satoshi and Daisuke… That's the only explanation I can think of," said Kurama with a shrug.

"Yeah…maybe…" said Drake quietly.

The next day, Kurama went to the Urahara Shoten, hoping that he'd have answers.

* * *

"Ohayo! Welcome to…oh, it's you," said Urahara annoyed.

"Look, I just came here for answers, okay? I didn't come to stir up trouble."

"What answers?"

"Do Gigai have the power to change the personality of those who use it?" he said bluntly.

"So you _were_ the ones who took them… And, as to that, no. I don't remember them ever having that kind of power before," said Urahara.

"It makes no sense though… before, Drake and I were at each others throats whenever we saw each other, but now…we get along just fine," mumbled Kurama confused.

"Why were you at each other's throats?"

"Because…he's my other half. And I mean that in a literal sense," said Kurama.

"So you two really are twins?" said Urahara surprised.

"I guess you could call us that… But what we told you before was the truth. We really aren't human."

"I can believe that part, but the bit about you two actually being artworks? That is something even I would have difficulty believing."

"Have you ever heard of the Hikari clan? They're the ones who could actually give something similar like a soul to their artworks through actual magic. Then they became power hungry and tried to make a living artwork… they called it the Black Wings," said Kurama.

"That reminds me… Do you know anyone by the names Daisuke Niwa or Satoshi Hikari?" asked Urahara; he remembered their reaction when he mentioned the Black Wings and figured he might as well ask.

"Hai… Drake and I know them better than they realize… Though they are beginning to suspect who we really are," admitted Kurama.

"And who are you really?" said Urahara in a suspicious voice; he was determined to get to the bottom of this whole mystery.

"What you should be doing is asking Niwa if he knows the true identity of Kaito Dark," hinted Kurama.

"I thought he was an urban myth."

"Not by a long shot. He's real all right…or he was before. Now, I'm not so sure."

"So…was that all you wanted to ask me about?"

"Almost… I was just getting worried because Satoshi is acting strange…er, _stranger_ than normal anyway. It seems like something is wrong and I don't know what it is."

"Satoshi isn't feeling well? I thought he looked pale earlier. Do you have any idea what may cause it?" asked Urahara concerned.

"At first I thought it was because of stress from finding out that Krad might be back, but now I'm not so sure. I think someone, or worse something is causing this…"

"There might be an explanation…but you won't like it."

"What?!"

"It could be that someone is using him as bait to lure you into a trap. Most likely it's the Soul Society."

"But why? Why would they want to harm a human?"

"I don't know…but if that is the case, what do you plan on doing about it? Will you run or will you confront them directly and take the fight to them?"

"I don't know… it all depends on whether he gets better or not. If they are trying to lure us, we'll take the fight to them. Do you have any way for us to do that?"

"You came to the right place… This isn't a regular store as you may have guessed. It's also a place to get black market items from the Soul Society. But if you go there, what will you do with the Gigai? You can't exactly leave it lying around for someone to find…"

"We'd probably leave them with you. They do belong to you after all. I'm sorry I had to take them in the first place, but we had no choice; if we had stayed in our forms, they would have sensed us," said Kurama apologetically.

"Well… you two haven't caused any real harm by it, so I guess I could live with them gone. It's not like I can't make more. Plus, if you really are sorry, then you can work off what you owe instead."

"Sounds like a fair enough trade… But why do I sense that there's a catch?"

"Not much of a catch actually… But if what you said was true earlier, then I'd definitely enjoying seeing a demonstration of this 'magic' you talked about."

"Is that all? No problem…since we're the ones who have to take the toll of using it, I doubt he'll care anyway."

* * *

Kurama left with a clearer conscience. His main worry was Satoshi…if the Soul Reapers weren't responsible, then why did he keep getting worse? The truth would be revealed in a few short days later… 


	6. The truth revealed

**The truth revealed**

"_Did you do what I asked?" said the captain of the 12__th__ division._

"_Hai, Kurotsuchi-taicho. The boy is losing his life energy as we speak. Soon he'll be sent here," said his assistant captain._

"_Good… Soon I'll have a new research specimen. Make sure to have one of the seat members on stand-by for when he dies. I want him in my lab a. s .a. p!!!"_

_Little did they realize that someone had been listening to the conversation. The fourth division was in charge of cleaning the sewers which had many entrances that few knew about. Hanatoro, who was about to leave after finishing the cleaning job, had managed to remain unseen as he waited for the two to leave. However, after the conversation he had overheard by accident, he knew he had to tell his Captain immediately._

* * *

"Unohana-taicho! Something is…going on in…the human world!" stammered Hanatoro as he tried to catch his breath. 

"Hanatoro-san, what's wrong?" asked Unohana.

"I was finishing the cleaning duty down in the sewer and when I was about to come up I overheard something. I didn't mean to listen in on Kurotsuchi-taicho and his assistant's conversation, but something he said caught my attention," said Hanatoro upset.

"Hanatoro, it's rude to listen in on other people when they aren't talking to you. Now what did they say that made you so upset?"

"He asked her if she followed his orders. She said that a boy is losing his life energy and would soon be sent here. Then I heard him say that he wanted one of his seat members on stand-by to pick this boy up so he can experiment on him."

"Hanatoro, are you positive that was what you heard?"

"I thought I misheard at first, but when he said something about experimenting on the boy I knew I hadn't. I think he sent his assistant captain to the human world in order to kill someone!" said Hanatoro worried.

"Very well Hanatoro-san. You may go now," said Unohana gently.

"Hai, Unohana-taicho…" said Hanatoro worriedly. He left quietly and went back to his duties as a seat member of the fourth division.

-----

"Unohana-taicho… Do you think it's true?" asked her second-in-command.

"I don't know whether what Hanatoro-san overheard was true…but I wouldn't put it past Kurotsuchi-taicho to pull a stunt like that," admitted Unohana.

"Should we alert the other captains?"

"Not just yet… Let's see what happens for a few days before we jump to conclusions, shall we?"

"Hai…Unohana-san!"

-----

Kurama went to see Satoshi a day later. He knocked on the door and was surprised to be greeted by Towa in her human form.

"What…where's Niwa?!" he said in shock.

"Dai-chan is with Satoshi. He doesn't look so good at all, so Dai-chan asked if I could get the door…"

"Towa…what's wrong with Satoshi?!" said Kurama.

"What…how do you know my name?"

"Would you prefer I call you the Eternal Guide instead?!"

"You're…"

"I have no time to explain! You have to take me to Satoshi now!" said Kurama irritably.

Towa showed him the room where Daisuke was sitting next to a semi-conscious Satoshi. The moment he saw Kurama he said… "Go away…Dark Mousy!"

"What the… Do I look like that fool?" snorted Kurama. He walked up to Satoshi and felt the Hikari's temperature.

"Why…? You don't have a fever or a cold so why…?"

"Kurama-san, do you have anything to do with Satoshi being sick?!" said Daisuke angrily.

"No… This wasn't done by any magic. If it that were really the case, then Satoshi wouldn't be so weak. Something else is behind this."

"How can you possibly know that?!"

"You two aren't the only ones who can sense magic. Right now, I'm more concerned about your safety. If this was done by those people, then they may very well come after you next. Towa, can you locate Drake; take Daisuke and Wiz along as well."

"Wait…what are you gonna…?!" said Daisuke worried.

"Don't argue with me! Just go find Drake and stay with him for now!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Let me put this as simply as possible… Ever since it was sealed last year, neither you nor your family has been able to use magic, let alone defend yourselves from an attack. Do you really think that you can protect Satoshi from whatever is behind this?!"

"But…"

"Daisuke, it would be easier to protect him if you were with Drake instead. I can't protect both of you should there be an attack from something. You don't need to worry… I can guarantee that I won't hurt Satoshi," said Kurama before Daisuke could object.

"I guess I have no choice… Come on Wiz, Towa…" sighed Daisuke.

"Oh, I almost forgot! If the door's locked, I don't recommend trying to pick it open. Drake and I put a double barrier to keep intruders out. Half of it is magic, the other won't affect you," said Kurama.

"Why's that?"

"Because it only affects thing that exist on the spiritual plane. You're aware of normal ghosts and spirits, but unless your power is strong enough for you to see them, it won't affect you too much."

* * *

Daisuke, Wiz and Towa all headed towards the twin's house. It wasn't too hard to find, but Daisuke kept getting the feeling that something bad would happen there. He reluctantly tried to open the door (which was locked unfortunately) and when that didn't work, he tried knocking. No one answered…he tried two more times before he took out his lock picks and began working on the door. It took ten seconds to open it…he went in and almost immediately felt like he was being crushed by some heavy force.

"Daisuke!"

"Kyu!!!"

Drake felt a sudden draft of air and took off his headset. At first he though Kurama was back, but he remembered that the shield wouldn't have activated if that were the case. He got up to see who it was and immediately ran to the red-head.

"Daisuke! What… What were you thinking?!"

"Kurama…told us…to come here," said Daisuke through the pain.

"Towa, Wiz, you might as well come in. As for you Dai, why didn't you knock?"

"He did…three times," said Towa as she entered without a problem.

"I must not have heard it… Of all the days I had to chose to put my headset on…! Daisuke, I don't know why he sent you, but you are more than welcome to stay here," said Drake. Daisuke felt the force slowly go away; his breath came out in gasps.

"I don't get it… Why was Daisuke the only one to…?" said Towa confused.

"It's a fail-safe for when we have company. The barrier was specifically put up to prevent someone or something from forcefully breaking in. The only ones who can come in unscathed are me and Kurama. Anyone else has to be invited in. That's why you two weren't affected. All the rooms in the house have a barrier as well…except the bathroom."

"Why go to all that trouble? I mean, even Dark would find a way around it!" said Towa.

"He wouldn't have to go around it. Daisuke, you can recover in my room for now. You can come too," said Drake.

"Arigato…I think."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Daisuke and Satoshi's house…

"Go away…!" said Satoshi weakly.

"Not a chance. Whether you like it or not I'm staying," said Kurama firmly.

"Why… Why won't you leave?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I've always treated you like a younger brother. So why shouldn't I act concerned for your health?"

"If only Krad and Dark weren't back…" murmured Satoshi.

"What do you mean?"

"With Krad back… I won't be safe if he decides to take over my body again…"

"And if Krad has found a body of his own? Would you be safe then?" said Kurama quietly.

"Yeah right… he's the Homicidal Blond and he won't rest until Dark is dead or gone. He'd endanger innocent lives!"

"You'd be surprised…" said Kurama. Satoshi fell asleep five minutes later; Kurama called Drake to check up on the others. He was relieved that they made it safely…more or less. He hung up and then turned to his former Tamer.

"Satoshi-sama… I'll never let anyone hurt you again…" said Kurama quietly.

-----

A week later, Satoshi was literally at death's door. Kurama feared he would be dead any minute. It wasn't until he sensed someone heading their way that he really became concerned. He realized that the only way to save him was to get Satoshi to trust him. He sat down and slowly chanted something. At first nothing happened; then a bright light enveloped him and he opened his eyes to see…Satoshi on the ground. He couldn't get any closer due to Satoshi's shields. Before Satoshi could react, they both felt a sinister presence near. Satoshi looked across the black mental landscape to see… something vague and cruel. The being chuckled as it said, "Looks like my new research specimen is about to join me…"

"What… Who are you?!" said Satoshi in horror. (It had taken a moment for him to realize the being was referring to _him_.)

"Satoshi-sama…" said Krad both worried and upset.

"No…go away!" moaned Satoshi in a daze.

"Not likely…" said the man.

Satoshi slowly managed to get up…he was in so much pain he didn't see Krad nearby. He glared at the intruder snarling weakly, "You'll never take me alive…"

"Whatever made you think I'd want to take your living soul?! It's much easier to have you sent to me when you die."

"Krad…" mumbled Satoshi under his breath.

"Just hurry and die already! I don't have all day!" growled the man.

"Go…to…hell," snarled Satoshi.

"Guess again boy…you're going to be my new research experiment whether you like it or not. I hope you can stand being taken apart piece by piece…"

"No… I won't let you!" said Satoshi in horror.

"You won't have a choice."

"Krad… if you can hear me…please help!" said Satoshi weakly.

"You can call for help all you like…no one will come for you except me," said the man.

"I can't believe I'm actually saying this…but for once I actually wish you were around!" said Satoshi in despair.

* * *

Those were words even Krad never thought he'd hear…at least, not from Satoshi anyway. For some reason, a song he had heard when the Second Hand of Time was active came to mind.

_**Softly, softly, I close my eyes,**_

_**And I feel you,**_

_**Being invited by the wind,**_

_**I look up at the sky alone again,**_

_**On nights I can't see you,**_

_**I make a wish to the stars,**_

_**Although no one understands who I really am,**_

_**Since I'm here… Since I'm waiting,**_

_**I want you to at least notice, **_

_**Always, always, I will be dreaming,**_

_**That my feelings will reach you someday,**_

_**Softly, softly, I close my eyes,**_

_**Please don't disappear**_

It was almost as if the song was being sung in the mental landscape…but by who he did not know. Krad silently chuckled.

-----

"Satoshi-sama… So you finally acknowledge the fact that you need me…" said Krad amused.

"Krad… You actually came?!" said Satoshi with mixed relief/horror.

"Naturally. You are mine, and mine alone. I'll never let this, this filth use you for his own agenda!"

"I don't know who you are, but you're too late to save this brat!"

"Watch it… The only one who's allowed to control Satoshi-sama's fate is _ME!_ He is mine and mine alone!" said Krad coldly.

"You haven't changed at all…" chuckled Satoshi weakly.

"So you believe…"

"There's nothing you can do… not with the boy's shields surrounding him!" laughed the man coldly.

'What that man said was right… Krad can't do anything for me with my barrier up! But can I trust Krad…?' thought Satoshi.

"Satoshi-sama, who do you trust…me or the person who wants to use you like a thing to be dissected?" asked Krad coolly.

"I still don't trust you, but if I have to choose between you and him. I think I'd rather deal with you any day!" said Satoshi as he lowered his shields. He felt the pain lessen for a moment before it came with full force.


	7. The lesser of two evils

**The lesser of two evils**

"I'm relieved to hear you say that, Satoshi…" said Krad. He held back a chuckle when Satoshi's eyes widen in shock.

"So the boy let his barrier down… You still can't do anything to save him!"

"Do yourself a favor, Soul Reaper, and shut up. It took me a while to realize how you got him to this point, but now it ends!" snarled Krad.

**"Ruler, the mask of blood and flesh, all things in the universe that fly, that which names all, in the name of truth and temperance, dig your claws into the walls of sinless dreams! Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!"** cried Krad as he launched the ball of magic and spirit energy at the man.

"Impossible! How can you perform such a high level Soul Reaper spell if you aren't a Soul Reaper!" said the man in surprise.

"That's for me to know and for you to disappear!" said Krad evilly.

"Krad…how…?" said Satoshi weakly.

"I'll explain later. Right now I need to get rid of whatever he used to drain your life energy…" said Krad as he quit holding his newly-awakened spirit energy. The shield Satoshi put up to protect himself from this new assailant was quickly filled with the energy. The air became so dense that Satoshi felt like he was being smothered!

"So you have spirit energy… Big deal! You are nothing compared to a Captain of the Gotei 13!" snarled the Soul Reaper.

"Guess again. The amount of spirit energy inside anyone is equal to their life energy. Once that's gone they die. The same applies to you…but not to me!" snorted Krad.

"You're bluffing. No soul can have unlimited spirit energy," retorted the Shinigami.

"Actually, he does have unlimited energy…" said Satoshi, his voice starting to go back to normal.

"How…how did you counteract the virus?!"

"It was very simple actually. If you were killing him by draining his life energy, then the only way to stop it was to overpower you with my own energy…" said Krad bored.

"There is no way you could possibly possess enough energy to over power my own virus… You would have to have to be stronger than Zaraki!"

"Be gone! I will never allow someone like you to have him!" growled Krad angrily.

* * *

The man was forced out of Satoshi's mind when the Hikari dropped his other shield. The pressure of Krad's energy sent him packing. He smirked and turned to his former Tamer.

"I guess I owe you my life…" said Satoshi.

"Not quite. I didn't help you to take you over again, Satoshi…"

"I don't understand… Why did you help me? And why do you no longer call me Satoshi-sama?" he said confused.

"Would you prefer it if I did?"

"Forget I said anything… If you didn't come to take control over me again, they why…?"

"I did it because you needed my help," said Krad, "Don't look so surprised. I'm kinda confused as to why you're not asking about that energy I let loose that got rid of that guy!"

"How long has the seal been broken?" asked Satoshi.

"It was never broken… It lost the magic it needed to keep us bound."

"Then how did you find us?"

"The Black Wings sent us to recover what it lost. You should have heard Dark when we were first released to find you!"

"Why?"

"If you had heard him, you would have a larger vocabulary of swear words," laughed Krad.

"You're kidding."

"The minute he realized he was out, he swore enough that a sailor would be green with envy. It's a good thing Daisuke didn't wake up during that tirade…though it would have been amusing to see."

"Wait a second… do you mean that the two of you came back in Daisuke's room?!"

"While he felt the effects of jetlag, if you must know."

"So you two _were_ here all along! I knew I felt Hikari magic a few days after we got here!" said Satoshi.

"We've been here ever since."

"Then why didn't I sense you? Even you would have trouble disguising Hikari magic every day…"

"I _acquired_ two vessels for Dark and myself an hour after we realized what had happened. After we made sure that our magic was still available to us; which by the way, was that burst you felt three days after coming, we both agreed to restrain ourselves from using magic unless absolutely necessary."

"Don't tell me you and Dark…?!"

"What? Become students at the same high school as you?" finished Krad with a grin.

"I can't believe I didn't noticed you two from the beginning…"

"You have NO idea how relieved I was that our disguises worked."

* * *

Before Satoshi could say anything else, he felt the pain slowly begin to return. Krad noticed instantly and put his coat around his former tamer; Satoshi realized that by doing this, he was blocking the pain at the source. He gave Krad a look which caused him to chuckle a bit.

"I take it you're wondering why I'm protecting you," said Krad amused.

"Hai…" said Satoshi.

"I guess you could say that Dark and I got so caught up in pretending that we actually gained the personality."

"You mean you and Dark were…?"

"Acting for all this time to deceive you? Yes, we were acting differently at first to do just that. Something has caused us to lose our original personality and take on the one we were using to fool you," explained Krad.

"But how were you able to hear me when I called for you?"

"The day we came back, our connection was still there…even when we forgot who we were, I was still connected to you," said Krad.

"Daisuke will be glad to hear that…" said Satoshi before he blacked out. Krad held the unconscious Hikari until he felt the boy's life energy returning. He left the mental landscape and returned to his own body. He picked up Satoshi and then carried him all the way to the house where Daisuke was already waiting.

-----

"You'll be safer here, Satoshi…" said Kurama quietly before he closed the door.

"You could have warned me that Dai and the others were coming!" said Drake irritably.

"And ruin the surprise? Besides, when I left you had that damn headset on!" retorted Kurama.

"Touché… But is it really a good idea to move him while he's so weak?"

"He'll be fine until we can counteract the virus completely. I think we should tell them the truth after they come to," said Kurama.

"How the hell can we pull that off if we don't know what virus was used?"

"A captain from the Soul Society was responsible. He used some sort of virus that drains the person's life energy until there's nothing left," answered Kurama.

"So what can we do? We barely know how to use one spell!" said Drake.

"Urahara… We can ask him if he knows anything to counter-act this," said Kurama.

"I don't trust him," Drake said bluntly.

"If you're worried that he'll want his Gigai back in return for helping Satoshi, you can relax. He's already agreed to let me work off what I owe for both of them."

"Alright… Which one of us stays to keep an eye on them?"

"I'll do it. And by the way, he mentioned that if what we said about magic was true, he'd like to see it himself."

"I'll be back… Don't burn down the house with that Soul Reaper spell!" Drake joked as he left.

* * *

"Kurotsuchi-taicho, you have some explaining to do!" said the captain of the first division.

"I don't know what you mean, sir."

"I'm talking about you attempting to kill a human for your experiments! It's one thing to use Konpaku for research, but using humans while they're still alive is inexcusable!"

"What has given you reason to believe I've done anything of the sort?" asked Kurotsuchi.

"One of the subordinates from the other divisions overheard a conversation and reported it to their captain. What they had heard you and your assistant talking over has given us a reasonable suspicion as to your actions for the past few days."

"I don't know who claimed they overheard such a conversation, but I think you need to check the source before you jump to conclusions."

"Are you implying that what they reported was a false allegation?!"

"Absolutely. What reason would I have to kill a human who's still living? I always let the Hollows do that task for me!"

"Normally I would believe you…however, the person who originally reported this had no grudge against you nor did they want to take your place. Several of your fellow captains also admit that they wouldn't put it past you to pull this kind of stunt."

"If you don't mind me changing the subject, there is something you really should look into before you come after me," said Kurotsuchi quickly.

"And what makes you think that this will change our minds into investigating this matter?"

"There is some truth to the accusation made, but when I went to collect I encountered something very disturbing. A human blocked me and helped the boy I was trying to use as a research experiment. He claimed that he had _unlimited spiritual power_… I didn't believe his bluff until he _forced_ me to retreat. He even used Bakudo 33, despite the fact that he wasn't a Soul Reaper himself."

"That is no reason for us to call off an investigation."

"His spiritual pressure was unlike anything I've ever felt… It was worse that Zaraki with his eye patch removed! And…it didn't feel human or anything that could create that kind of pressure."

"Are you saying that there is something even _more_ dangerous than Menos Grande in the human world?!"

"It would appear so," said Kurotsuchi.

"Even though you haven't proven this soul actually exists, we will look into this after our investigation of your actions is complete. However, should we find that you sent us on a wild goose chase, we will be forced to punish you."

-----

"Hanatoro-san, I told the first division captain about what you overheard; Kurotsuchi-taicho is now under investigation. Normally I don't condone someone listening in to other's conversation, but I'll let it slide this time."

"Arigato, Unohana-taicho! To tell you the truth, I wasn't planning on listening in to begin with. I was waiting for them to finish whatever private matter they were discussing to come out."

"So in truth you were not to blame listening in. Interesting. Hanatoro-san, since it was you who found out about this, how would you like to go to the human world and look for the boy they were referring to?"

"I would be happy to do so, Unohana-taicho," replied Hanatoro.

"You may use the rest of the day getting ready to depart," said Unohana.

"Hai…!" said Hanatoro nervously. He went to his room and packed the things he might need. Ironically, he also stumbled upon his Zanpaku-to which he had lost for some time. He decided to bring it along just in case. Hanatoro left the next morning.

-----

"Welcome to Urahara Shoten! How may I… oh, hello Drake, wasn't it?" said Urahara cheerfully.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything that would counteract a virus, would you?" asked Drake, who didn't want to be there.

"If you want something like that you should go to the drug store a few blocks down."

"Normally I would…the problem is, the virus I'm talking about drains a person's life energy until there's nothing left."

"It drains their energy? I've heard of something like that happening before, but I've never actually seen someone who fell prey to it. Besides, I don't have anything to reverse something like that," admitted Urahara.

"Great… now I have to worry about Satoshi's life and those Soul Reapers coming after me!" grumbled Drake.

"Wait… Do you mean the reason Satoshi fell ill is because…?"

"Yeah… according to my brother, Satoshi had a virus put on him by a captain of the Soul Society. Or at least, that's what the guy responsible told him."

"I wish I had something that would help, but we don't have anything that would counteract the virus here. We've never had to deal with it before…"

"Well, at least this gives me a reason to beat the hell out of Kurama…" grumbled Drake.

"Why's that?"

"I didn't want to come here to begin with, but he seemed to think you could help."

"Well at least you tried. I'll be seeing you soon, I bet."

"Whatever."


	8. What's a Zanpakuto?

**What's a Zanpaku-to?**

Hanatoro went into the human world without any problems. He began searching immediately for the boy. The only thing he found however, was a house emitting a strong spirit energy barrier! He tried looking in the windows, to no avail. Then someone came up the street and was heading for the house. Hanatoro assumed that the man lived there and almost became alarmed. That is, until he remembered that the guy most likely wouldn't see him to begin with, so he calmed down.

"If you're trying to break in like those other idiots, here's a little advice for you. Don't bother trying to force your way in here, you'd only be wasting your time like the other Soul Reapers," the boy said coolly, looking directly at Hanatoro.

"You…you can see me?! But I thought humans couldn't see us unless they were no longer living!" said Hanatoro startled.

"Yeah, well I ain't exactly human. What do you want? If you're here to take us to whoever sent those other guys you might as well leave," he said annoyed.

"Other guys? My captain didn't send me to come take anyone to the Soul Society," protested Hanatoro confused.

"Is that so? In that case, you might as well come in. For some reason those things with masks have a tendency to surround the house almost every night," the boy said.

"They're called Hollows," said Hanatoro.

"And I'm called Drake. You can come in if you want…but you might want to hurry; those…Hollows or whatever will be here in a few minutes," replied Drake.

"Hai…!" said Hanatoro nervously. Drake unlocked the door and let Hanatoro come inside…five minutes later at least 10 Hollows started gathering around the house, waiting for one of them to come outside and away from the barrier.

-----

"Drake, what did he say? Were you able to… Uh, why did you bring a Soul Reaper into the house? Don't you remember the last time they came around?" said a white haired boy.

"One, he said he didn't have anything to counteract the virus, and two, this one wasn't sent after us…for once."

"So he didn't have anything that might help?"

"No… But I did get something for going there, Kurama."

"What?"

"A decent reason to kick your ass! You know I don't like that Urahara guy!" growled Drake.

"Urahara? I've heard of someone with that name before…" said Hanatoro.

"You have? Where?"

"The previous 12th division captain's name was Kisuke, Kisuke Urahara. But he disappeared quite a few years back…"

"That explains a lot. So what's your name?" asked Kurama.

"Yamada, Hanatoro."

"Hana-chan, why were you sent here?" asked Drake.

"I overheard the current 12th division captain talking about someone he was going to use as another one of his research subjects. I wouldn't have listened in, but they mentioned that the soul was still a living one…"

"Wait…you mean that the one who did this really was a captain?!" interrupted Kurama.

"Hai… Kurotsuchi-taicho has a nasty habit of turning people into research experiments…" said Hanatoro surprised.

"He wouldn't happen to be almost all white with a black face and yellow eyes, would he?"

"That sounds like him…"

"Good…now I know the name of the person responsible for trying to kill Satoshi," said Kurama angrily.

"Eh…?! You mean you know the boy they were talking about?" said Hanatoro in disbelief.

"I was barely able to prevent that jerk from killing him. He's in my room, actually… He needs to recover from losing so much life energy," replied Kurama, "Why do you ask?"

"The reason my captain let me come was to see if I could help him…"

"Wait…you mean you came here to help Satoshi?"

"Hai… So what sort of virus did Kurotsuchi-taicho use?"

"All I know is that it drained his life away until there was almost nothing left. If I hadn't arrived when I did, he would be dead."

"I might be able to get rid of that…but there are at least four viruses that fit that description," said Hanatoro.

"Well, every time I did something, he always said that there was nothing I could do to save Satoshi… Does that help?"

"How did you stop him from dieing because of the virus?"

"I quit trying to restrain the spirit energy I had and it overpowered him. It not only saved Satoshi, but it also sent him packing," said Kurama.

"Only one kind of virus can be overpowered through spirit energy… and I think I brought the antidote with me!" said Hanatoro; much to his relief, he _had_ brought the antidote. He gave it to the teen; then turned to Kurama and Drake.

"That should reverse the effects. What I don't get is why Kurotsuchi-taicho did this… Usually he lets the Hollows kill people, then he uses them…" 

"Probably because of us…" said Kurama.

"We learned how to use a spell even though we're not Soul Reapers. I'll bet it was him who sent those other guys after us…" said Drake.

"That explains why three squads from the 12th division suddenly disappeared for a week," joked Hanatoro.

"I've been meaning to ask, but what's with the swords you carry? It seemed like all those other guys had one too…" said Drake.

"All Soul Reapers have a Zanpaku-to. I usually lose mine though," replied Hanatoro.

"Zanpaku-to? What're they for?" asked Kurama.

"We use them to kill Hollows and perform konso on the spirits who wander around," said Hanatoro.

* * *

They sat down on the couch and chatted for a while. Mostly they asked Hanatoro questions about the Soul Society and the divisions. Drake and Kurama got a good laugh when Hanatoro met Wiz!

"WHA…!!!" yelped Hanatoro as Wiz jumped on his head.

"Wiz, you crazy rabbit!" laughed Drake.

"Gomen… it's just that the rabbit caught me off-guard…" said Hanatoro.

"If you think that's bizarre, wait until he gets ahold of the strawberries I hid," joked Kurama.

"What's his name?"

"Wiz… Tell me, Hana-chan, have you ever heard of the Hikari Clan?" asked Drake.

"No… I've never heard of them. I've heard of Quincys, but they were killed off a long time ago."

Drake told him some strange and somewhat hard-to-believe things about the Hikari. The one thing he made sure to leave out was The Black Wings. Now it was Hanatoro's turn to ask questions! Without even realizing it, morning had risen.

"Well, looks like another day dealing with homework," said Drake bored.

"Not quite. I think we better sit today out…" said Kurama.

"Good thinking…" yawned Drake.

-----

A certain red head came into the room.

"Ohayo, Drake, Kurama…" he yawned.

"Ohayo, Dai-chan," replied Drake.

"Who's he?"

"I'm Hanatoro… Nice to meet you!"

"Same here; I'm Daisuke. Um, I don't mean to be rude, but why are you dressed up like a samurai?"

"Daisuke, are you planning on going to school today?" interrupted Kurama, much to Hanatoro's relief.

"You two are gonna stay home, right?"

"Better believe it," snorted Drake.

"In that case, I'll leave Satoshi with you. I'll tell the teacher that you're not coming today."

"Thanks… Oh, and Dai? Here's the key for the front door… for when you come back," said Drake as he tossed it to him.

"I'll head straight back…along with the homework you'll miss."

"Oh joy… See you after school Dai!" called Kurama.

-----

"I thought you two were the only ones who could see me…!" said Hanatoro surprised.

"That was a shock… even I didn't expect Daisuke to be able to see ya," admitted Drake.

"I'll go check on Satoshi. If I don't come back in around five minutes… then I probably fell asleep," said Kurama. (Sure enough, that was EXACTLY what happened. Lol.)

"So Hana-chan… why were you looking through the window when I saw you?"

"I felt this weird spirit energy and followed it to this house. I was trying to see what was causing it when you came."

"Should've known…" said Drake.

Whatever Hanatoro used on Satoshi obviously worked. An hour after Kurama fell asleep, he came to! He got up with wobbly legs; it took him a few minutes to be able to stand properly. He then went into the living room…his eyes shot up with surprise when he saw Drake.

"Ohayo, Satoshi-kun. I see you're feeling better now…" said Drake casually.

"Drake? I can understand why Kurama was in the room, but I don't remember leaving the apartment…" said Satoshi confused.

"He brought you here. He said it would be safer than staying at the apartment," said Drake.

"Figures… You wouldn't happen to know what caused me to get so ill, would you?" said Satoshi suspiciously.

"Looks like you really are back to normal. And it turns out you had a virus from something. We thought you were a goner for a minute there," said Drake.

"Who's the guy with the weird sword?"

"Wha…! Not you too!" said Drake in dismay.

"Um, he's sitting on the couch next to you… which I can see clear as day, by the way," said Satoshi.

"I don't get it… You two were never able to see spirits before, so why…?" murmured Drake.

"My name is Hanatoro. Nice to meet you!"

"You can call me Satoshi. And if you don't stop mumbling Drake I'm gonna hit you…very, very hard," said Satoshi annoyed.

"Hanatoro, I think that stuff worked too well… He's back to normal in less than a day!" griped Drake.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hanatoro here is the one who saved you from that virus. Apparently he brought the antidote along just in case."

"I guess I owe you then, Hanatoro-san," said Satoshi as he sat down.

"Um… I'd prefer it if you didn't use the honorifics. I get that enough back home," said Hanatoro nervously.

"Hana-chan, why are you always so nervous?" asked Drake.

"I get bullied… a lot."

"Why don't you tell someone?" asked Satoshi.

"Because it's usually the people who outrank me that does it. They really torment me around April Fool's day…"

"Dare I ask why…?"

"It happens to be my birthday… Ironic, right?"

"Not really. It's better than being born on Valentine 's Day or St. White's day," said Drake. They heard a knock on the door. Drake went to the window and groaned in dismay.

-----

"Of all the… Why does it have to be that…?!" he grumbled annoyed.

"What do you want Urahara?" said Drake irritably.

"Don't tell me I woke you up," said Urahara.

"Nah… it's just that I prefer NOT seeing you during the morning," retorted Drake.

"I see you have a Soul Reaper with you. I'm going to guess you're fourth division, right?"

"Hai… But how did you…?"

"Lucky guess. Mind if I come in?" asked Urahara. Drake moved out of the way so he could enter, but Urahara said, "Do you mind dropping the barrier you have around the house?"

"Damn… I was hoping you'd fall for that trap… Come in… Just don't get too comfy," snorted Drake.

Urahara sat down next to Hanatoro.


	9. Show yourself, Krad and Dark!

**Show yourself, Dark and Krad!**

"It seems Satoshi got rid of that life energy virus pretty quick," commented Urahara.

"Life energy what…?"

"Don't ask… So why'd you come here?!"

"I sensed that a Soul Reaper appeared close to your house and decided to investigate."

"That has to be the biggest load of…!" started Drake.

"Why is it that everyone except me knows what a 'Soul Reaper' is?!" griped Satoshi.

"Don't look at me! I barely even know anything about them!" said Drake quickly.

"Soul Reapers are the ones who make sure that when someone dies they can pass on to the next life. They're also called Shinigami," said Urahara.

"What do they look like?"

"They look like Hana-chan."

"What?"

"Um… I'm a Soul Reaper…" said Hanatoro embarrassed.

"Okay… So why don't humans see you?"

"Actually, I'm shocked you could see Hanatoro. Daisuke could see him too when he woke up!" said Drake surprised.

"I think it has something to do with the barrier around here. I've had this weird feeling ever since I came in," said Hanatoro.

"That makes sense actually. The first barrier that we put up was made out of spirit energy, but the second one is actually a magic fail-safe in case the first doesn't work," said Drake.

"By magic you mean…?" said Urahara.

"Magic. We can use normal magic easy… it's those Soul Reaper spells that gave us a hard time."

"I don't see why you'd have trouble with them. After all, you are in a stolen…" hinted Urahara.

"Will you drop that already?!"

-----

"Stolen what?"

"Just drop it Urahara… Kurama said he'd work it off didn't he?!"

"Fair enough."

"What was stolen?"

Drake shot Urahara a look that said, 'If you tell him you're screwed!'

"It was nothing… Besides, if I really wanted them back all I would have to do was knock the thief's soul out," said Urahara.

"Prove it…" said Satoshi.

"I'm gonna wake Kurama up… He's been asleep long enough," said Drake bored.

XxXxX

Urahara smirked evilly as he took his cane and literally knocked Drake's soul out! Satoshi's eyes widened as he recognized the person standing in front of him.

"It can't be…! You mean that the world's biggest perverted playboy turned into the world's biggest bookworm?!" said Satoshi before he burst out laughing.

"That may be, but…I have been moping the floor with you in school," retorted Dark.

**"_Ow, ow, ow… What the hell was that?!"_** said a familiar voice from behind Dark.

"What the…?! That is just weird… I thought I knocked the soul out already!" said Urahara confused.

"And I think it's time we used a memory spell on the lot of you," said Kurama with an evil look.

"Correction… we just need to use it on Urahara the jerk and Satoshi. I don't think Hana-chan will remember much about this anyway," said Drake and Dark.

"Good point. We got about an hour or so until Daisuke gets back. I say we get this over with. Who's your target?"

"Take a wild guess… Krad," smirked Dark.

"I should have guessed you were Krad…" snorted Satoshi.

"Time for you two to take a nap boys…" said the two angels evilly.

-----

"Urahara-san, I thought you went to check up on the two with the stolen Gigai…" said Tessai.

"I thought I was too…! How'd I end up back here?!" said Urahara confused.

"You were gone for over an hour… You mean you don't remember a thing?"

"The last thing I recall was heading towards their house… Then…a blank."

"Um, Kisuke-san…what's on your cane?" asked Ururu.

"Eh…? I didn't put anything… Huh… I wonder who put this note on here."

"It says, 'We're sorry we had to erase your memory, but you did say you wanted to see magic. Signed Kurama.' Who's that?" asked Jinta.

"That would be the person who took those Gigai a few months back. I wonder why he erased my memory though."

"Um…there's something else on the note. 'P. S. I wasn't the one who erased your memory. You can thank Drake for that.' So I guess he wasn't responsible."

"Remind me to go back there tomorrow…unless something else comes up," said Urahara.

-----

"Hey Hana-chan… You know how Daisuke and Satoshi were able to see you? I think I know why. Step outside the barrier for a sec. We'll erase his memory after we try something," said Krad.

"Okay…I'm outside the barrier!" said Hanatoro.

"Um…where's Hanatoro? He disappeared right after he left the door!" said Satoshi confused.

"I knew it. So it was the barrier that allowed the others to see you," said Kurama.

"How did the barrier pull that off," said Drake.

"Easy… the Hikari magic blocked the spirit energy and allowed Hanatoro to become visible to others," said Kurama.

"Sorta makes sense…" said Satoshi.

"And now, to erase your memories of Drake and me. I'll leave the stuff about the Soul Reapers though," said Kurama.

"Fair enough…" said Satoshi as he erased the memories.

* * *

He fell asleep almost immediately and Kurama caught him; Hanatoro came back in and Drake grinned. His amusement increased when he heard a yawn from the Soul Reaper.

"Me thinks we're not the only ones who need a nap…" joked Drake.

"Yeah… I think staying up so late took a lot more energy than I thought. Not like I'm not used to it though…" said Hanatoro.

"Yikes… Well, you're more than welcome to stay with us until you have to go back," said Drake.

"Arigato, Drake-san," said Hanatoro.

"Do you have to use the honorifics?"

"It's a habit that everyone in the fourth division has. Our captain always uses them, so we have to as well."

"Hey Kurama, do you think we should warn Dai that everyone's going to be asleep when he gets back?"

"Why not? How does 'warning, napping in progress' sound?"

"Works for me. Hey Hana-chan, we got a spare bedroom you can use if you want," said Drake.

"Thanks…"

* * *

"I'm… back? Um, guys? Where are ya?" said Daisuke. Then he noticed the note.

"Warning, nap in progress. Also known as… _KEEP IT DOWN! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!!!!_"

"Okay… the warning is noted…" said Daisuke as he entered Drake's room. The other was fast asleep with Towa and Wiz nearby. Daisuke yawned as he fell asleep next to Drake. (There was a P. E. test that day and he was exhausted.)

They all slept for over four hours before they were finally able to get up without yawning. Once everyone was awake, Satoshi and Daisuke made dinner. While they were at the table waiting, Drake whispered to Hanatoro, "Remember, do NOT tell them about our real names!"

"Don't worry… Your secret is safe with me!"

"Hanatoro, do the others really play a lot of tricks on you?" asked Daisuke.

"Yeah…especially on April Fools…mainly 'cause that's my birthday…"

"I don't envy you one bit… Takeshi always used to pull stunts on me too, like making me do _his_ cleaning duty," said Daisuke sympathetically.

"He wasn't the only one, remember? Risa and quite a few others did it too…" said Satoshi.

"So Hana-chan…do you know a lot of Bakudo spells?" asked Drake.

"Mostly healing ones… That's what the fourth division is for; aside from menial labor anyway…"

"How about a trade then? Me and Drake will teach you how to use our kinds of magic in exchange for your healing ones," suggested Kurama.

"Um…I don't know if Unohana-taicho will like that…" said Hanatoro nervously.

"Is she your captain?"

"Hai… She's scary even when's she's being polite…"

"Yikes… Well, since we are offering something in return; not to mention that we rarely use offensive spells, I don't think she'll mind."

"I don't know…"

"Would you feel better if you asked her first?"

"Hai…"

"Is there anyway to get ahold of her without alerting the others?"

"I could try using the butterfly system, but someone else might pick the message up before her!"

"How 'bout this then? We'll teach you some of our defensive spells and when we're finally able to come to the Soul Society we can ask her then? Sound good?"

"Hai! You two are a lot nicer than the others said you were…" said Hanatoro.

"Strange how that usually works out, eh?" joked Kurama.

* * *

Hanatoro spent roughly a week with Kurama and Drake. He enjoyed his time there as he knew it would be over all too soon. When he was about to head back, Drake stopped him for a moment.

"Hanatoro, me and Kurama made something for you… Just in case you ever need us to come help," said Drake as he handed him a pendant with what appeared to be wings and a mirror.

"Arigato, Drake, Kurama! I'll try to keep the others from getting to me too much," said Hanatoro as he entered the gate.

"Take care, Hana-chan! You can use that mirror when ya want someone to talk to 'kay?" said Kurama.

Hanatoro was waving to them as the doors closed and they started home. Kurama turned to his twin and said, "Do you think we should have told him about the side effect from using the mirror?"

"He'll find out soon enough after he uses it. Besides, it won't hurt him remember? We'll be the ones to feel it!" said Drake.

"True…"

"I only wish we could have learned some more Kido spells…"

"We can always pester Urahara for some," Kurama reminded him.

**XxXxX**

It wasn't until they reached the house that they some something very odd. Drake stopped short and said, "Kurama, is it me or is there a cat on our doorstep?!"

"What the…?"

They approached the feline and looked at one another.

"Why is there a cat here?" said Drake.

"Urahara sent me," answered the cat.

"Figures… he would send something like this to us," snorted Drake.

"You mean someone. Why did he send you here…?"

"My name is Yoruichi," said the cat.

"Mr. Yoruichi then. Why did Urahara-san send you?" asked Kurama.

"He said that there were a few interesting characters here and said I should check 'em out. I would have waited for you two inside if it weren't for something blocking me," said Yoruichi.

"That's why we put it up. To keep uninvited guests from breaking and entering. You are more than welcome to come in if you like," said Kurama.

"Thank you," replied Yoruichi as the feline entered the house.

"Oh, before I forget… Watch out for Wiz," said Drake.

"Wiz…?"

"KYU!!!!!" cried Wiz as he pounced on Yoruichi.

"That would be Wiz… See why I said to watch out?" laughed Drake.

"Point…taken!" said Yoruichi as it threw Wiz off.

"So, Yoruichi-san, would you like something to drink?"

"Milk, if that's alright with you," replied Yoruichi.

"Sure. Milk it is," said Kurama as he brought out some milk.

As they sat there chatting, Yoruichi finally asked something that had been bother him.

"How does your barrier keep out uninvited guests?"

"Simple… the first half, which is made of super-dense spirit energy, makes it difficult to enter without getting hurt. The second, which is made of our own magical ability, makes it impossible to enter without either myself or my twin from coming in without our consent. It works for both those who are normal or have their own magical powers."

"Was Urahara making a joke when he said you two can use a Bakudo spell even though you've never had any training?"

"Nope. We overheard this girl use a spell to destroy what Hanatoro said was a Hollow and we tried to use it ourselves. It wasn't until Drake came up with the idea of combining magic with the energy required that we got it to work," said Kurama.

"How many Kido spells can you two use?" asked Yoruichi.

"As of now…one. We were unable to convince Hana-chan to show us some more," said Drake.

"What would you do if you knew more?"

"Try them out until we could do them without help."

"Maybe I could be of assistance then. How fast are you two on foot?"

"I'm pretty light on my feet, but Kurama on the other hand…"

"He was a Phantom Thief before he gained his own body. Me, well I usually flew on wings rather than walk. But I can be fast when I want to be," said Kurama.

"Well boys, how would you like to learn a little something called Shun-Po?"

"Flash Steps? Definitely!" said Drake.


	10. The history of the Black Wings

**The history of the Black Wings**

It took Drake and Kurama less than three days to master Shun-Po to Yoruichi's satisfaction. Though even Yoruichi had to admit that it was disturbing as to how quickly they mastered the spells. It bothered the feline so much that it asked, "How are you two able to master them so quickly? I've never seen anything like it!"

"I guess it's cause we're both an endless existence," shrugged Drake.

"An 'endless existence'… I've never heard of such a thing."

"We may never have been human, but we were created _by_ humans. The Hikari Clan to be exact," said Kurama.

"What…?"

"The Hikari clan… All they wanted to do was create beautiful and magnificent art; and they succeeded, though the end result wasn't exactly what they intended it to be. The beauty and excellence of their art drew in people's feelings and before they knew what had happened, they had given birth to magical power. Satoshi always wanted to prove that not all of the Hikari's artwork was filled with ill intentions," said Kurama.

"At one point, the Hikari were at the top of the art world. People told rumors that said whenever the Hikari family created an artwork, a soul would dwell within it. But the family wasn't satisfied and tried to create the ultimate artwork that was alive," said Drake.

"What do you mean an artwork that was alive?" asked Yoruichi.

"I mean an artwork with its own soul. But, something happened when they were beginning the ritual that would make that soul…" said Kurama.

"What happened?"

"There was a family that prided themselves on being Phantom Thieves. They were called…the Niwa family. The Niwa and Hikari had always been rivals and when they found out about the artwork, they attempted to steal it. Right before the ceremony that would give life to the piece was held, the Niwa family interrupted by attempting to steal it. At the end of a large scale spacial displacement, the soul was split and the two halves merged with both families' DNA," said Drake.

"Though the Niwas got the better half," said Satoshi from nowhere.

"Ack! Satoshi, where did you…?!" asked Drake.

"He's been here since that virus thing, remember? It was the only place we could be sure that the virus would have no chance of coming back," reminded Kurama.

"How long have you…?" said Yoruichi.

"The only reason I even bothered to listen is because they actually _knew _about my family's history. Otherwise I would have gone back to sleep."

"Oh well… Yoruichi-san, meet the only living descendant of the clan, Satoshi Hikari," said Drake bored.

"Hello… What did you mean when you said that the Niwas got the better half?"

"The Niwa clan was cursed with Dark, who actually gave a damn about their safety. My clan, however, ended up with a psychotic jerk named Krad. The only thing he ever cared about was himself and killing Dark," snorted Satoshi. (Yoruichi noticed that Kurama slightly flinched when he said this.)

"Sounds like some people I know… So what exactly happened?" said Yoruichi.

"The feud between our clans raged for over 400 years after the incident that created the Black Wings. It wasn't until last year that we were finally able to seal that damn thing and put an end to this mess once and for all. Or at least, that was what we thought…"

"Meaning…?"

"Daisuke and I both thought that once it was sealed, then it would stay that way forever. But recently we started noticing that there was Hikari magic active right after we moved here. And the day I should have been killed by that virus or whatever, my fear was realized when Krad came to me."

"Why didn't you die though?"

"It was strange…before we sealed the Black Wings, Krad didn't give a damn about me or my safety. But that day, he actually saved me and brought me here. I don't know why he did it, but I'm not complaining!" grinned Satoshi.

"Interesting…"

-----

"Hey Satoshi, you do know that summer break is almost here right? What're you gonna do?"

"I'm going back home to see Risa again. Daisuke's coming too…he's been homesick and really wants to see Riku. We'll be gone all summer," said Satoshi.

"We'll be staying here…we gots some unfinished business to attend to," said Kurama.

"Speaking of which, I better head back to the house and get my things ready. Our trip is in two days and I don't want to be in a last-minute-rush!" said Satoshi as he headed to the apartment. When he got there, the first thing he noticed was a white feather in his bags. He ignored it and packed the things he'd bring with him.

"Hey Satoshi… I've been wondering about something…" said Daisuke.

"About what?"

"Wiz seems to really get along with Drake, and I don't want to upset him by bringing him back with us…"

"So leave him with Drake. I'm sure they'll understand," said Satoshi.

"And what about Towa?"

"Why don't we let the two of them to decide whether they want to stay or not?" said Satoshi.

"Sounds good to me," said Daisuke.

"So where exactly will we be staying?"

"My house of course. We do have a spare bedroom for you, remember?"

"Oh yeah… I completely forgot about that," said Satoshi. They finished packing and decided to go out to eat.

* * *

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you two have some connection to that boy," said Yoruichi.

"You're right…we do have a certain connection to Satoshi. Me in particular…" said Kurama.

"What kind of connection?"

"Our real names aren't Drake and Kurama Kubo… We're really Dark and Krad, aka the two halves of the Black Wings," said Drake.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth?" asked Yoruichi.

"Hmm…let me think. Would you tell your former Tamer that you're really his cold-hearted alter ego who didn't care about him at all after he thought he was rid of you for good?"

"I see your point," said Yoruichi.

"If Satoshi knew who we really were, he'd stop at nothing to make sure that we get sealed back inside the mirror. Though we've been tempted to tell them why this was happening…"

"And why is this happening?"

"Well, the reason that we were released from the seal was because the main power source was removed. If Satoshi hadn't moved away, we'd still be behind the seal."

"Why does Satoshi have to be around?"

"You know the concept of Yin and Yang right? Well, the Niwa clan is Yin while the Hikari clan is…"

"Yang… figures. It makes some sense, seeing how Hikari translates as 'light'. So you two are the halves that made the Black Wings. Why were you sent here?"

"The best we can figure is…because this is where Satoshi is. We think the mirror sent us to retrieve him because he's the last living Hikari. Without him, there is an imbalance of magic back in the city," said Drake.

"So why did you steal the Gigai?"

"Um…that was me. I overheard someone saying in the store that Gigai were used as emergency bodies that house souls inside. So I took two; one for both of us. We've been trying to keep Satoshi from finding out who we really are," said Kurama.

* * *

"Makes sense… now back to…"

"Wait… do you feel that?" said Kurama.

"Now that you mention it… it feels like the atmosphere is heavy; well, heavier than usual in the house anyway," said Drake.

"You're right… let's go outside!"

Outside the barrier, at least 20 Hollows awaited them at the door. Yoruichi was surprised at the number of Hollows awaiting them; he sighed before he said, "It looks like I'll have to return to my true form to get rid of these pests."

"Your WHAT!"

"My real form… I'm not really a cat."

"We figured that much ourselves," snorted Drake.

"Hey Drake… have you ever heard of Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em-Robots? The point of the game is to knock the other person's block off…so to speak," said Kurama.

"What's your point?"

"Who has a problem when it comes to dealing with others and isn't afraid of endangering their Tamer's life to destroy his opposite?"

"Krad! I get it now! You want to release your old personality on these things!" said Drake.

"There's only one teeny-tiny problem with it…"

"We don't know how to knock out our old personalities?"

"Hello hypnosis…" said Yoruichi.

* * *

It took five minutes for them to locate something to hypnotize Kurama enough to bring out Krad's former personality. As soon as the old Krad came back, Drake had to convince the psychotic angel to destroy the Hollows. This was pretty easy considering he hated Dark (and being called the Angel of Mercy. He REALLY hated that!).

"Oy Krad! Those monsters seem to be under the impression that you're an angel out of the mortal religions that have mercy!" said Drake.

"THEY WHAT!!!!!" roared Krad, annoyed as hell. In less than half a minute, every single Hollow within a mile radius was gone to the Soul Society.

"Woah… Now that was…" stammered Yoruichi.

"That was Krad pissed off on a good day. Now if he saw my true form as Dark, he'd stop at nothing to destroy me," laughed Drake.

"So what exactly set him off anyway?"

"Krad's nickname is 'the Homicidal Blond'. He absolutely _despises_ me and being called anything like the 'Angel of Mercy'. I think it has something to do with his 'rep'."

"Ahh… Makes sense. So…can you two access your spiritual power?"

"Um… not exactly. Most of the time we just combine our original magic with the spirit aura and that's how we were able to cast spells."

"We'll have to work on that later. Right now, you better come with me. You'll need to choose whether you want to continue honing your spiritual abilities or not."

* * *

It was after Ichigo dealt with Menos Grande. Drake and (he was back to being Kurama by now) his twin had made their choice.

"What do you say bro? Think we could handle learning something new?" said Kurama.

"Yeah… but you do realize what it would mean, right? We'd have to give up our wings while training."

"What wings?" asked Orihime.

"The wings that contain our original powers. If we gave those up, we'd lose almost all of our magical power. The feathers themselves contain enough energy to power your entire apartment for around three to four years depending on how much electricity you use."

"Wow… that's a lot of power!" said Orihime.

"Yeah…well, we might actually gain even more energy if we choose to use our spiritual energy instead of our magic. Hell, we could literally gain unlimited power because of our little problem," said Drake.

"What problem is that?" asked Chad.

"Well, technically we don't have a soul. Either of us…the only way we could even have something remotely similar to a soul is if we literally become one."

"That's enough for now. You four have training to do if you want to become stronger," said Yoruichi.

"Sure… Let's get started!" said Kurama. In less than a week after Menos Grande and the incident with Uryu, Drake was literally at wit's end with Rukia. For some strange reason, she had gotten into a habit of calling him the 'Dragon Breath Nerd', which pissed him off more than someone calling Krad an angel of mercy. It got so bad that everyday after school, without fail, Drake didn't go with Kurama to train. He always caught up with his twin who would show him what they did.

Drake wasn't training to use spirit energy; instead he was trying to find a way to bring out his original self, Phantom Thief Dark. It only took him two days to come up with a solution. Now all he needed was an opportunity to use it in battle! This would come three days later. And it wouldn't be the opponent that he was expecting!


	11. The return of Dark

**The return of Dark!**

Rukia had run away from Ichigo's in an attempt to protect him from what was to come. Drake was returning from the library when he noticed something was off in the atmosphere. He looked up from his book and that's when he saw her. His attitude changed in an instant.

"Great… and my day had been going so well too!" he growled.

"What the… what do you want, Dragon Breath?!" retorted Rukia irritably.

"How many (bleeping) times do I have to tell you not to call me that brat?!" he snarled angrily.

"I've…stayed too long in this world…" said Rukia for no reason.

"You're quite right!" said someone from above, "But then, because you stayed too long, you got to live a lot longer than you would have!"

"Renji! Renji Abarai!" said Rukia in shock.

"Rukia Kuchiki… You were so lost in thought after being here for a few months that you didn't even notice us!" said Renji.

"Wait a minute… Rukia's in a Gigai?! No wonder she's such a weakling!" chuckled Drake.

"And who are you supposed to be?" said Renji.

"I'm Rukia's classmate. Though if you kill her I won't stop ya!" replied Drake coldly.

"More like you couldn't stop him, nerd-boy," retorted Rukia.

* * *

"Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!" said Drake clearly as a fire ball shot towards Rukia and missed her by a hair.

"What?!"

"Call me a nerd again brat…and next time I won't miss," said Drake angrily.

"Impressive… I didn't think there would be another Soul Reaper in a Gigai here," said someone from behind Renji.

"I ain't a Soul Reaper…though you were correct about me being in a Gigai," said Drake smoothly.

"I don't care who you are, but if you can use Bakudo, then I'll have to kill ya," said Renji with a smirk.

"Knock yourself out. It's not I really give a damn anyway. You two couldn't kill me if you tried," snorted Drake.

"Is that right? We'll see 'bout that!" said Renji as he drew his Zanpaku-to.

**"Roar, Zabimaru!"**

"Cute… But do you really think a baboon-snake crossbreed can beat me?" said Drake trying not to laugh.

"WHAT! You're bluffing! There's no way you can possibly see Zabimaru in his true form!" said Renji off-guard. Drake took the opportunity and vanished from the Soul Reaper's sight. He reappeared behind Renji and knocked him down with ease.

"No way… How can a nerd do that to a Soul Reaper?!" said Rukia in shock.

"Brat…I thought I made myself clear. DO NOT CALL ME A NERD. I wasn't always a bookworm," said Drake amused.

"Bookworm or not, you're gonna regret doing that!" snarled Renji. Drake easily evaded the attacks Renji used.

"Please don't tell me you're tiring out already! I'm just warmin' up!" laughed Drake.

"Impossible… how can he evade all of Renji's attacks?!" said Rukia.

"Renji, enough playing around!" growled the other Soul Reaper annoyed.

"But Captain Kuchiki, I'm not playing! This guy is quicker than he looks!" said Renji.

"Actually, Daisuke's grandfather could evade your attacks…and I mean that literally," said Drake.

"I've had it to here with you, little boy!" grumbled Renji as he released his spiritual pressure. (He figured if Drake could use Kido spells, he could also have a hard time standing in strong spiritual pressure. Yeah right!!)

-----

"Um, are you trying to slow me down or something?" said Drake casually.

"What!"

"Well it does feel like the force of gravity around here increased, but that's about it."

"How can you still be able to stand?!" said Renji and Rukia in unison.

"You want the truth? This outta be amusing!" snickered Drake as he drew out one of his black feathers. Its glow was blindingly bright before vanishing, when it dimmed down, Drake was no longer there. Instead stood someone with purple hair, amethyst eyes and a playboy smirk. Almost immediately the pressure around the area became near unbearable. Renji was having difficultly staying up.

"Your spiritual pressure is strong, I'll give you that. But it's nothing compared to someone who's soul is tied to an endless existence," said Dark with a laugh.

"Drake, your hair…!" said Rukia.

"My name ain't Drake, you annoying brat! It's Phantom Dark!" said Dark bored.

"I don't care if your name is Nancy! You're going down!" said Renji with difficulty.

"Renji, that's enough. I'll handle him, seeing as how he's too much for you," said Kuchiki.

"Go for it. You still can't kill or harm me though," snorted Dark.

**"Scatter, Senbonzakura,"** said Kuchiki. His sword deteriorated into a storm of what appeared to be cherry blossoms. Dark took one look at that and knew he'd be in trouble if they made contact.

"Oh no you don't!" said Dark; he dropped his energy field and said, "Wiz! Come here!"

"KYUU!!!" cried Wiz as he transformed into Dark's jet black wings. He took flight and said, "I don't care if you're stronger than Renji, but I won't let you get the better of me!"

"How are you…?" said Rukia.

"Like I said before, brat. I wasn't always a bookworm!" said Dark with his playboy smirk. The petals darted straight at him; he took out another feather and blocked them easily.

-----

"If the police couldn't catch me, what makes you so sure that you can? They've tried for years and never could defeat me!"

"I don't need to defeat you, only kill you," said Kuchiki. Once again the petals came; Wiz was scared.

"Hey Wiz, get ready to become my doppelganger, 'kay?" said Dark so quietly only his familiar could hear him.

"Kyu…!"

"NOW!" said Dark as Wiz detached from him. A second flash of blinding light and instead of one Dark, there were now two.

"Here's a question for you, Soul Reapers," said Dark.

"Which of us is real…" said the second Dark.

"And which of us is a doppelganger?" said the first. (Both were in midair with wings of black.)

Both Soul Reapers attacked them at the same time. Renji went after the real Phantom Thief, while his captain attacked With. Dark evaded Renji with ease; With wasn't as lucky.

"KYUUU!!!!" Wiz's cry diverted his attention; he grabbed his familiar before the rabbit-like creature could fall too far.

"Sheesh…you are waaay too tense!" said Dark.

Byakuya's sword reverted to its original form and he struck Dark in two places. This was because he was under the assumption that Dark was a Soul Reaper. Dark plummeted at first, and then broke his fall by flapping his wings.

"Ow…what the hell was _that_ for?!" griped Dark.

"Impossible…how can you still be standing? I severed the two connections to your powers!"

"Who said I was a Soul Reaper like you three? I don't get my power from my soul, idiot. I get it from emotions," snorted Dark.

"You're kidding. How can someone get their powers from emotions?"

"I'm not human…nor do I have an actual soul! How many times do I have to repeat myself before you fools get it?!"

-----

"What's going on here brother?!" said Kurama irritably.

"Damn…figures you'd come to ruin my fun," Dark said irritably, "How'd ya find me? Wait… don't tell me you used…?"

"Um… He asked me to find you, Master Dark," said Towa nervously.

"Towa, stay away from the jerk with the scarf! His sword can slice and dice you before you can get away! And as for you Kurama… keep an eye on With. I got some unfinished business with these jerks!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH DARK!!!!!" roared Kurama, "Do you want our Tamers to find out who we really are?!"

"Who said I was using Hikari magic, moron?"

"If you don't knock it off now I'll…!" said Kurama in a warning tone.

"Bite me… Hell, I bet you anything that Renji here will call Krad an angel of a certain sort…" Dark snickered.

"I don't know who you two think ya are, but you're in for a world of hurt!" said Renji annoyed.

"Dark…I'm scared of the tattooed weirdo…" said Towa.

"I told you that the tattoos made you look weird Renji," snorted Rukia.

"Shaddup!" said Renji irritably.

"Dark, let's head back to the house before those damn Hollows gather reinforcements…" said Kurama.

"Make me! If you want me to go home, then get rid of these two morons first," snorted Dark.

"Fine… it seems I have no choice other than to beat the hell out of you and drag your purple-haired ass home."

* * *

"Hey! Are you two idiots even listening to me?!" said Renji angrily.

"Eh? Were you sayin' something?"

"THAT'S DOES IT! YOU ARE SOOOO DEAD!!!" roared Renji as he activated his Zanpaku-to. Kurama didn't bother to waste his time dodging. Instead, he gave Dark a look; the other nodded and grabbed Towa before taking flight.

"Since you seem so intent on fighting, why don't I teach you a lesson?" said Kurama amused. The light he gave off was so bright that almost no one saw the white feathers that flew all around him.

"What the hell…? Where'd the angel-freak come from?" said Renji.

"Angel…Freak?! This is coming from a man who had to have eyebrows tattooed on himself?" retorted Krad.

"So what're you supposed to be? The Angel of Mercy?" snorted Rukia and Renji.

"Oy, brat! You know how I hate it when you called me a 'nerd'? Well my opposite here hates being called an angel of MERCY. In fact, he hates it so much he sets aside his desire to kill me in order to slaughter whoever calls him that!" laughed Dark evilly.

"Quite right, Dark Mousy," said Krad.

"I don't know who or _what_ you are, but if you continue to get in our way I will be forced to kill you," said Byakuya.

"Why are you here? What is it that you're after?" said Krad coolly.

"We just came here to get a fugitive is all. If you stand aside now, we might just spare your insignificant lives," Renji said irritably.

"Fugitive? You wouldn't be referring to the brat over there by any chance?" said Krad.

"I AM NOT A BRAT!!!!" Rukia said angrily.

"Oh? Then why do you always act like you're better than everyone else, short-stuff?" retorted Dark.

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT, DRAGON-BREATH!!!" growled Rukia loudly. Dark just stares at her for about ten seconds before chuckling evilly. His amusement is cut short as an arrow made of spirit energy whizzes past Krad and nearly hits Renji! Krad and Dark look at each other; as if by an unspoken cue, they both fly off into the night. Uryu appears out of the shadows…

(You can probably guess what happens next. It mostly follows the original series!)

* * *

"Mind telling me what _THAT _was all about?!" griped Krad.

"I wasn't looking for a fight! They're the ones who started it!" protested Dark.

"I'm sure…"

"Honestly! Rukia got on my nerves with that stupid nickname, I shot the Pale Fire Crash and almost hit her, and then that creep with the tattooed eyebrows came after me!"

"Why didn't you just walk away then?"

"Did those guys really seem like they'd LET me walk away?!"

"True…but you could have at least left poor With out of your fight. He looks like something a cat dragged in."

"I thought he could dodge the attacks those guys made…I never thought he'd actually get hurt!"

"That's your problem…you rarely think before you act!" snorted Krad. (For some reason neither of them had even noticed that it had begun to rain…)

Both Dark and Krad quickly ran into the house to get dry. They both knew all too well that Towa and With hated getting wet! After drying off, they fell fast asleep as the rain continued to come down. Wiz curled up close to Dark while Towa fell asleep next to Krad, still in her bird form.

-----

Daisuke and Satoshi dropped by the next morning.

"Hey Towa, With!" called Daisuke. (By now the barrier recognized them and let them walk through without any problems.)

"Hey Dai-chan!" replied Drake as he walked into the living room.

"What happened to With?!"

"I got into a bit of a fight. I know you guys were planning on leaving him with us, but I think it would be safer to take both of them with you."

"Where are you two going?"

"We don't know, but we have some unfinished business and I don't want either of them caught up in it," said Drake.

"Okay…but when can we bring them back?" asked Daisuke.

"We'll call you when our thing is over with," said Kurama.

"Good luck, guys," said Satoshi as they left to catch their flight.

"Let's go see Urahara," said Kurama after they left.

"Fine…but I won't take any lip from that jerk!"


	12. Souls of their own

**Souls of their own**

"So let me get this straight…Drake here fought with a captain-level Shinigami and survived without a scratch?" said Urahara surprised.

"Yes…they weren't that tough actually," said Drake bored.

"Huh…and when he struck the two places where a Soul Reaper's powers were, you weren't affected?"

"Not in the least."

"How would you two like to have the same powers as those two who came and took Rukia?" asked Urahara.

"No thanks…those two were _way _too uptight."

"It'll make shooting off those Kido spells easier," said Urahara. (Didn't know that would cinch the deal!)

"What?! In that case, I'm in!" said Drake with a grin.

"So when do you two want to begin?" asked Urahara, amused by Drake's enthusiasm.

"How does right now sound?" asked Kurama.

"What about school?"

"We got an early summer dismissal. They won't mark us absent if we start our summer breaks now," said Drake.

"In that case, follow me boys!" said Urahara.

-----

"What the hell…?!" said Drake in surprise.

"We'll start your lessons right away. Ururu, you ready?"

"Hai, Kisuke-san!" said Ururu. She had strange gear on, and she dropped some items almost identical to it on the ground. There were two pairs, one for each. Drake picked one pair up with a dubious look on his face.

"What're…?" he started when Urahara knocked both souls out in rapid succession.

"HEY! What the hell was that for?!" said Dark angrily.

"Huh…that's something you don't see everyday," said Urahara.

"Ow…what just happened?" asked Drake.

"I don't believe it…two souls in the same Gigai? What're the odds of that?" said Jinta.

"Slim to none I imagine," said Kurama dryly.

"Alright, how is it that both of you have a double soul?!" asked Urahara, clearly confused.

"Simple…one is the original, the other is the recently created."

"Meaning?"

"Dark and I are the original souls that used the Gigai, Drake and Kurama here are what we get for dabbling with Spirit Energy," said Krad bluntly.

"That makes a little sense. Let's put that to the test, shall we?" said Urahara. (He knocked the Konpaku out again, this time the souls were more what he was used to, with the exception of them being slightly transparent.)

"Huh…I guess we haven't dabbled enough for them to become proper souls yet," said Dark nonchalantly.

"Well I can fix that. Both of them will face Ururu. If they get past her, they pass the first lesson," said Urahara.

"If they can't?" asked Krad.

"Then you'll just have to shot a LOT of Pale Fire Crashes until they solidify."

"Works for me. Though the latter might happen first, considering the fact that once I release his old personality he'll be trying to kill me by whatever means necessary," snorted Dark.

"Let's try to avoid that for now, shall we?"

"All right, lesson one, begin!" said Urahara. Ururu charged at Kurama first, since he was the more solid of the two. He narrowly avoided her punch and tried to land one of his own, to no avail.

-----

"Hey Krad, you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Dark.

"Sparring match until these ridiculous lessons are over?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!" said Krad as they started sparring, not paying any attention to the bout.

"What're those two doing?" asked Jinta.

"I overheard the words sparring match while they were talking, so that could be it," said Tessai.

"Huh…guess they don't care what happens," said Urahara.

"Nope…we know that they'll pull it off somehow!" said Dark as he narrowly escaped the kick.

"Remember boys, no Soul Reaper spells!" said Urahara nervously. (Drake and Dark both had a tendency to 'accidentally' miss with their spells. They usually shot them at Urahara, even when they were in a good mood.)

"Since…when do…sparring matches…involve…magic spells…moron?!" said Dark through gasps. (Was seriously out of shape.)

"He has a point, Urahara," Krad admitted. He continued his assault, despite the fact that Dark was having trouble keeping up with his attacks.

-----

Finally, Kurama (somehow) managed to land a punch on Ururu. She flipped and almost hit him back; that was when Drake was suddenly put in Kurama's place thanks to Urahara…and Dark.

"Wha…!" said Drake as he very narrowly ducks from her punch. He is then busy ducking, dodging and parrying her attacks.

"Why do I have to do this!? I'm the bookworm, remember?!" said Drake in disbelief.

"Because I want your soul to be as solid as Krad's is!" retorted Dark.

Drake heard the real reason through telepathy to his creator.

**

* * *

And because I can't stand my soul being under the control of a freakin' bookworm who doesn't know how to fight without my help!**

'_HEY! I do know how to fight, jerk! I just don't fight girls!'_ retorted Drake indignantly.

'**Even if your life depended on it?'** asked Dark.

'_YES!!!! I can thank your influence for that, idiot!'_ snorted Drake.

'_**What was that?! I didn't hear you for a moment there!'**_said Dark angrily.

'_I said I have you to thank for the inability to fight girls!_' repeated Drake.

* * *

"THAT'S IT!!!! LET ME AT HIM!!!!" growled Dark pissed.

"Huh…seems that Drake-san doesn't want to fight Ururu, even though she won't hesitate to kill him. I wonder why?" asked Tessai.

"Seems Dark is getting annoyed with his other soul. I wonder what Drake said to set him off?" said Urahara as he looked over to the other boys.

"If you must know, he claims it's MY fault he can't fight Ururu!" snarled Dark. (Seriously pissed off by Drake at this point.)

"That actually makes sense. You're more of a playboy than anything else…and you've never had to fight girls if you had another option," Krad pointed out.

"SO?!"

"So it's possible that your new soul can't fight girls at all. Unless something really set him off to make him forget that his opponent is a female," snickered Krad.

"If that's the case, he'll never pass lesson one!" said Urahara in dismay.

"I think there's another way to get around that…"

"What?"

"Why not have Ururu and Dark trade spots? He's just as strong, if not more so than her, and he has more experience when it comes to fighting."

"Why not? We've got nothing to lose by trying it," shrugged Urahara. Dark may have been out of shape at first, but he was ready to fight now. One moment he was fighting Krad, the next he was going at it with Drake!

-----

"What the…?!" said Drake in surprise.

"Payback time, fool!" snarled Dark. (Still mad at Drake for placing his little problem on Dark.)

It quickly became clear that Drake had switched from defense-to-offense once his opponents had been switched. Dark almost had his hands full blocking all of Drake's attacks! Finally, Drake managed to land a solid kick on Dark; Urahara yelled, "Lesson one, complete! Well done Kurama and Drake!"

-----

"That's it?!" said Drake, trying to catch his breath.

"There are three lessons you have to get through. First one was to gain enough spirit energy for you two to become proper souls. Next is lesson two, the Shattered Shaft."

"I have a baaad feeling about this one," said Drake and Kurama in unison.

"Tessai?" said Urahara. The giant Tessai severed both Drake and Kurama's spirit chain from the Gigai. At first they panicked, worrying that they'd disappear very quickly; then they relaxed a bit when they were still visible to the others.

"Ready? Lesson two, begin!" said Urahara, with a very theatrical wave of his fan. One minute they were on solid ground, the next they were freefalling down a shaft that was at least a mile deep.

"OW! Geez, what's with that jerk?!" griped Drake…before Tessai bound both their arms using Kido.

"In order to pass this lesson, you'll both have to access your Soul Reaper powers before you become Hollows. If you fail, well, we'll have to dispose of you," said Urahara.

"They won't fail…the only question is how long do they have?" asked Krad.

"If they can't become Shinigami within three days they become Hollows. There's a gas in the shaft that stimulates the encroachments…so they come sooner than they would under normal circumstances."

"Is it possible for me to use the Gigai to go get something from the house? I'm sure whatever these 'encroachments' as you call them are painful. I'd rather drown them out than listen to them," said Dark.

"Sure. What about you Kurama?" asked Urahara.

"It's Krad. Kurama is in the shaft. And I happen to agree with my more annoying half…I'd rather NOT hear their screaming," corrected Krad.

"Be sure to get back here as soon as you can," said Urahara as the two went back to the house.

* * *

An hour and an encroachment later…

"We're back! So how have they faired so far?" called Dark.

"HOW DO YOU THINK WE'VE BEEN?!" retorted Drake irritably.

"That bad, eh?" said Krad bored.

"So what were you two getting anyway? You were gone for an hour!" said Jinta.

"Our CD players and some fresh batteries. It's not like we missed anything," snorted Dark.

"If you don't count tiny mouths eating away at the chain interesting," said Urahara.

"Nope."

"Urahara, I need to ask you something," said Krad.

"What?"

"I know that idiot Dark gets bored very easily. You wouldn't happen to have any deadly traps laying around, would you?"

"What?!"

"He was a Phantom Thief before we came here, and I know it's the one surefire way to keep him from whining that he's bored."

"How long will it keep him busy?" asked Urahara, interested. (It's fun time if he gets to set up traps for Dark to fall for!)

"The more inventive, the more fun he has getting past them. Just as long as it doesn't require spirit energy anyway. You can even use lasers, trap doors that suddenly open up into a bottomless pit, and my personal favorite, electrified doors," said Krad.

"I think we can handle that. Just give me a few hours to get it ready. Jinta, Ururu! Seems we're going to have a bit of entertainment while we wait!" called Urahara.

"What kind, Kisuke-san?"

"We get to set traps for Dark here to get past. Pits, locks, you name it. We can get as inventive as we want," said Urahara.

"Count me in!" said Jinta evilly.

_**I think I've created monsters…**_Krad thought amused.

* * *

Five hours and another encroachment later…

"Alright, what's this surprise you three said you…" said Dark. (Krad had covered Dark's eyes.)

"Krad-san said you liked going through traps, so we each made a trap course for you," said Ururu.

"No way! These look better than the ones Emiko used to set up!" said Dark impressed.

"_Daisuke's mom,"_ whispered Krad when he saw Urahara's confusion.

"Think this'll keep you occupied until lesson three?" said Krad.

"Hell Yeah! I've been wanting to go through some traps for a long time!" said Dark happily.

"He sure seems in a good mood," said Jinta.

"That would be because he misses being the infamous Phantom Thief Dark. At least we can pass time watching him get through your courses," said Krad with a shrug.

"This should prove entertaining…if I had known he loved trap courses we would have made a big one for him months ago!" said Urahara.

"Well at least now you guys have something to work on while we're gone," Krad joked.

-----

Four more encroachments later…

"Wow…he's pretty good for someone who hasn't done this in a while," commented Urahara.

"Hey, how long has he been at that anyway?!" asked Krad.

"Beats me…you loose track of time in this place easily. Come to think of it, I should check and see how many encroachments they've gone through," said Urahara with a shrug.

"Tessai, how many so far?"

"At least six, Urahara-san! The next one should be the final encroachment!" replied Tessai.

"Huh…I'll go get Dark and the others. That last one should begin any time now," said Urahara.

"Krad, can you tell the thief that it's almost time for the final encroachment?"

"Sure. _HEY PHANTOM DORK!_" yelled Krad before Dark could have another go at Urahara's course.

"WHAT?!" he growled irritated as hell.

"Urahara said it's almost time to watch them either become a Hollow or Soul Reaper!"

"Already? That was fast," said Dark as he (reluctantly) left the courses.

"Time flies watching you go through all those traps. Urahara also said earlier that they'll work on the course while we're gone. So you can expect a much more challenging one next time round," said Krad.

"Yay! I can't wait!" said Dark with a big grin. (Starting to like Urahara more than he originally did.)

* * *

As the final encroachment began, both brothers were in pain one minute, and inside their powers the next. That was where they met their true forms…the Black Wings.

"**So you are the two who prevent me from retrieving my torn soul. Well, don't think I will let this go for much longer."**

That was when they began to fall from the mirror's edge. The Kokoyoko (Black Wings) fell with them, saying, **"If you wish to repay your true selves back for this, then find your powers! You know what to do!"**

Kurama had no idea how to find his power, but Drake knew exactly what the Black Wings meant. He conjured up the spirit ribbons and found the one dyed in red. He followed that lone ribbon to a single red feather among the black and white ones that fell. He took that feather and willed his power to emerge…the feather turned into an odd-shaped Zanpaku-to. Kurama followed his example.

Both brothers had their new powers and the resulting reitsu from the shaft was immense. Two streaks of light shot out of the hole and (after bouncing off the walls a few times) landed with a loud _CRASH._

When the smoke dissipated, Dark and Krad looked at their new souls in surprise; both had a mask on as well as an unusual Shihakusho. (Shihakusho—Soul Reaper Uniform.) Both Dark and Krad were a bit surprised. Drake wore a white outfit that looked like Dark's usual one except the black and white parts were reversed. Kurama wore something very similar to Krad's old outfit, with the exception of it being a deep blue-purple. Their masks were unique as well; both were a cross of the true form of Krad and Dark, with the slight issue of both possessing two different animals instead of a human. Drake had a Fox/Black Wings mix; Kurama had a Dragon/Black Wings combo.

Both Drake and Kurama wrecked the bottom portion of their Hollow masks to get them off. Urahara said, "Lesson two, complete!" As soon as they had gotten used to the fact that it was over, Kurama and Drake both nailed their other half's hard with their Zanpaku-to!


	13. Darkess and Light

**Darkness and Light**

"OW!" said Krad and Dark in unison.

"That…was for leaving us down there and not giving a damn whether we made it or not!" growled Kurama.

"And this… (Drake sucker-punches Dark in stomach)… is for making it almost impossible to fight girls!" said Drake with an evil grin. Dark is winded for a few moments thanks to the punch.

"Who's up for the third lesson?" asked Urahara.

"I'm game. What's the next one?"

"You have to find the name of your Zanpaku-to," said Urahara before he drew his own sword which lay hidden inside his cane.

"I should've known you had something in that damn cane of yours!" snorted Drake.

"You have to knock my hat off using your Zanpaku-to if you want to pass. Both of you," continued Urahara. Kurama drew his sword first…it almost resembled a watanuki.

"Let's get this over with. I want that screaming in my head to stop!" said Kurama.

Urahara began his assault with Benihime (his Zanpaku-to's name). Kurama parried over a dozen times and still Urahara persisted. That was when he noticed someone running and moving alongside him. It almost looked like…Krad! (The only difference was the aura and look in his eyes…not to mention the wings.)

_-----_

_Who're…?_

_**I am you Zanpaku-to, idiot. The only thing blocking my name is your weakness!**_

_What weakness?!_

_**Your inability to attack and win by whatever means necessary. How else could I have become known as the Homicidal Blond?**_

_Wait…so you're really Krad BEFORE you were sealed?!_

_**So you finally figured it out.**_

_How do I defeat him?  
__**Shout my name, duh.**_

_What's your name then? I seriously doubt Krad or Homicidal Blond will do any good._

_**I am…**_(You didn't really think I'd tell you his name without a fight, did ya?)

-----

As Kurama shouted the name of his Zanpaku-to, Krad's eyes widened. It was his own name…with a slight difference. Then it was Drake's turn. Now it was Dark's turn to be surprised. The name was almost identical to Kurama's Zanpaku-to, only his was the complete opposite of the first. Even Urahara was taken aback. _Two Zanpaku-to with the same name?!_

"Lesson three, complete!" said Urahara as he picked up what remained of his (poor) hat. Both brothers were completely exhausted. They collapsed on the ground fast asleep. Dark and Krad came out of their shocked stupor with a chuckle.

While Urahara helped Ichigo regain his own Soul Reaper powers, Drake and Kurama trained non-stop using their new swords…Dark and Krad, on the other hand, had a different agenda. They remembered Hanatoro and his uniform. Urahara had already warned them that they would have to deal with being attacked on sight due to their appearance as ryoka. Dark came up with a brilliant idea to get around that problem; they would disguise themselves as members of the Gotei 13! Both of them would go into two different companies. Krad would take the eleventh while Dark went into the second. (Neither of them wanted to deal with Kurotsuchi if they could help it!)

* * *

"Alright you two. So Dark is going into the Special Ops while Krad takes the more violent division?" said Yoruichi.

"Yup…we were hoping you could help us fit in," said Krad.

"I can help more with the second division, but the eleventh is out of my league. If it helps, there is something that most people in the Seireitei try to remember when it comes to dealing with Zaraki's group…they're more likely to fight than to talk," said Yoruichi.

"Sounds perfect for Krad!" snickered Dark. Krad (halfheartedly) punched Dark for the comment.

"What about the other?"

"They wear a uniform unique to the Gotei 13…unlike a normal Shihakusho, the second division's assigned uniform resembles more of a ninja's than anything else; they also don't wear sandals, only socks. There are five different parts, the top being the Executive Militia."

"Woah…"

"They're also the only one of the thirteen companies to have bodyguards. I seriously doubt you'll be able to handle the rigorous training they put everyone through…" said Yoruichi.

"Is that so? Come downstairs…there's something you need to see in order to believe," said Krad.

-----

"What…what is this supposed to be?!" asked Yoruichi in surprise.

"Trap course…for me," said Dark bluntly. He fell back into his old self as he quickly and silently flew through all three courses in less than ten minutes.

"On second thought, the 2nd company might be perfect for your particular skills," said Yoruichi after watching Dark.

"That's why Urahara recommended I try to infiltrate the second…because I'd easily fit right in with my experience," grinned Dark.

"So Kisuke was the one who suggested those two divisions…I should have known," said Yoruichi dryly.

"So what do we do?"

"First you'd have to go to the second division and try a basic training exercise to see if you qualify. Then you'd have to deal with being given orders by your superiors; and we all know that's your weak point. Krad, on the other hand, would just have to defeat at least three of the seat members in battle in front of both Zaraki and Yachiru in order to be accepted."

"So he has the easy one…figures. I guess I'll have to swallow my pride in order to get into the second division," said Dark in a tone that made Krad smirk uncontrollably.

"I'll give you an example of what the standard 2nd division uniform looks like," said Yoruichi. As they went back upstairs he brought out an old uniform with no sleeves and no back.

"This is a good example…except that the usual one has long sleeves and a back, as well as tight bands on both arms and legs," said Yoruichi.

"Hey…that looks a lot like…!" started Dark as he went and brought Yoruichi his usual outfit.

"What's this?" asked Yoruichi.

"This is what I normally wear if I can get away with it," replied Dark.

"That's actually very similar to the Special Ops uniform. You probably _could _get away with wearing that instead…if Soifon doesn't bite your head off for it," said Yoruichi.

"I was hoping you'd say that!" said Dark relieved.

"With just a few modifications, you can probably pull it off. Krad's outfit, on the other hand, will stick out like a sore thumb…and his hair is way too long for others to ignore his presence," said Yoruichi.

"Oh no…don't tell me I have to…!" said Krad in dismay.

"He-he-he…looks like you're finally gonna get a haircut!" said Dark laughing.

"I'd say about half-way will suffice. That'll grow back quickly enough when you leave anyway," said Yoruichi.

"Including the bangs?" asked Krad in worry.

"Those you can leave alone. I doubt people will notice those as much as the back."

"That's a relief…" said Krad relieved…somewhat.

-----

After they got their disguises made (under Yoruichi and Urahara's supervision), they then prepared to leave. Since they'd have to come back soon anyway, Urahara let them stay at the shop until it was time to go. As they entered the gate, they were confronted by a massive ball known as the Cleaner…it eradicated everything it touched and was mostly to get rid of Hollows in the World Gate.

The only ones who remained standing after they exited were Drake, Kurama, Krad and Dark. (All four of them brought out their wings to break their fall.)

Ichigo beat Jidanbo with ease…then they were confronted by none other than Gin Ichimaru, the captain of the third Division! He knocked both Jidanbo and Ichigo out of the gates, sending the door crashing down with a bang! As the other trained with Kukaku, Dark and Krad were testing something that would become very important the next morning. They went past the spirit barrier that surrounded the Seireitei in a spherical force field; it destroyed anything make of spirit particles that should try to force their way into the Seireitei.

They went through it with minor resistance. Once they realized that their unique souls could bypass the barrier with no assistance, they rested until morning while the others trained to create a 'cannon ball' of spirit energy. Dark went to Yoruichi and said, "We'll meet you guys on the inside. We're going on ahead."

-----

"And what about the barrier?"

"We went through it last night and it didn't affect us in the least."

"We'll see you later. Good luck getting into the companies without getting caught," said Yoruichi.

"Thanks," said Dark as he went to meet Krad inside the barrier. Kukaku saw him leave the house and said, "Where the hell does he think he's going? That barrier will…"

"Those two are different than the rest of us. That barrier doesn't affect them in the slightest."

"So they're going in ahead?"

"Exactly. Both of them have already chosen the company that they'll try to infiltrate without getting caught."

"Which ones?"

"2nd and 11th. Both are well suited to those anyway."

"…"

-----

Krad and Dark went over the wall and then attempted to find their division without arising suspicion. Which was relatively easy since they just had to follow someone from that division. What would happen next would determine their success at deception.

The cannon was launched; Ichigo and co. prepared to hit the barrier. They had a lot of difficulty due to Ichigo's inability to control his own reitsu! In the end they were split into groups; Drake and Kurama, Chad, Orihime and Uryu, Ganju and Ichigo, and Yoruichi. They flew into different parts of the Seireitei. Krad and Dark both saw the split, but ignored the scene so they could continue their work.

**(I'm gonna cut this chapter short. The next one will focus on Dark and his first day as a Soul Reaper. He'll try to infiltrate the second division, but how will he survive being told what to do?)**


	14. A place to belong

**A place to belong**

As Dark approached the second division's compound, he decided to see just how good they were. He disappeared using Shun-Po and reappeared in the middle of the courtyard. His sudden arrival took them off-guard for a split second…before they attempted to either capture him or kill. (More likely they'd do the latter if he were caught!)

"Heh…I hope you guys don't actually expect to catch me without a fight!" snickered Dark. He sensed someone trying to sneak up behind him and moved out of their reach before they could get a hand on him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" laughed Dark as he avoided all their attempts. (And it might be a good idea to point out that he is _not_, I repeat NOT using his wings to avoid their attacks!)

"What's going on here?!" yelled Soifon annoyed.

"Commander, this ryoka boy appeared out of nowhere and we're trying to get him. There's a slight snag though…" said one of her subordinates.

"What sort of snag?"

"He's…he's avoiding all of our attempts with disturbing ease. Every time we get close to him he goes out of our reach."

"How hard is it for you to catch one ryoka?!" griped Soifon as she went to see what the real problem was.

Dark was jumping, ducking, even flashing in and out of sight without care. He was having more fun than he did back when he was still a Phantom Thief! The second division was more of a challenge defeating than the police ever were. That was when he saw a woman in black and white with her hair in braids. One look at her face told him she wasn't happy about his little surprise visit! (She looked downright pissed that he had the gall to show up in HER division!)

-----

"I don't believe this! Stop fooling around and get rid of him already! He's just one ryoka!" growled Soifon irritably. That was when Dark decided to catch _her _off-guard for once.

"I may be a ryoka, but you guys still won't catch me!" he laughed as he vanished and appeared behind her.

"What the…! Get him!" she said, turning to face him.

"Heh…you guys are more fun to mess with than those foolish police were back home!" he grinned.

"What's wrong with you today?! He's just a lone ryoka; he shouldn't be _that _hard to catch!" snapped Soifon.

"A normal ryoka might have been easy for you to catch, that much is true. But someone who's had plenty of experience avoiding, foiling and messing up every attempt to capture them is another story entirely," said Dark with a smirk. This only enraged her enough that she joined in on the capture.

"You're going to pay for that, ryoka!" growled Soifon angrily.

"The name's not ryoka, it's Dark. _Phantom Thief _Dark, to be precise," said Dark with a mild bow.

"I don't care what your name is, you're going to spend the rest of your miserable life in a jail cell!" retorted Soifon angrily. As she drew closer to Dark, he waited until she got close enough to grab him before he jumped back and then to the right.

_-----_

_Now seems like the perfect opportunity to put all those hours of sparring against Krad to good use!_

He let Soifon get close again and again, parrying every punch she threw. Then he went on the offensive, just for kicks. She had her hands full trying to stop his kicks and blows. A thought then hit her like a brick. This ryoka was good enough to be in the Special Ops; too bad he entered the Soul Society illegally, or she would have let him join. He definitely had the moves and flexibility!

_I don't understand this ryoka… What was his objective for entering the compound? He looks almost like the usual Special Ops member with that outfit of his, and he definitely has the moves and attitude to rival my own! Too bad he's a ryoka…he'd be perfect for the second division._

-----

"You still haven't figured it out, have you?" said Dark as she almost landed a blow to his amusement.

"What're you talking about?" said Soifon as she kept her onslaught steady.

"You haven't realized the reason why I came in here out of the blue, have you?"

"You're a ryoka…it doesn't matter what the reasoning is, you're not supposed to be here!" said Soifon. (He caught the hint of disappointment in her voice. He figured it was because she couldn't let him join.)

"Just because I came here illegally doesn't make my intentions bad," replied Dark.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" snapped Soifon.

"I mean there's a perfectly good reason why I even showed up in this compound instead of somewhere else," said Dark. He blocked her kick to the side with some difficulty. She was getting better at aiming her strikes.

"What reason could you possibly…?" said Soifon confused.

"Take a wild guess."

"It's a pity you're a ryoka, otherwise I might have let you join the Special Ops…" said Soifon calmly.

"Looks like you figured it out, finally," said Dark with a grin.

"What?"

"You figured out why I came to the compound," repeated Dark.

"Let me get this straight. You came here so you could join the second division?! You're a ryoka!" said Soifon, slightly startled.

"So? I've been so bored lately that when I heard of this place and the Special Ops, it sounded like the best place to go," shrugged Dark.

"They'd never allow it. Not only are you a ryoka, you're not even a Soul Reaper!"

"Wanna bet? See that fat idiot heading this way?" he said looking in the direction of her assistant captain. (She secretly agreed with his assessment of the man; he was an idiot.)

"_Bakudo 33: Pale Fire Crash!"_ said Dark as he launched a shot at the bag of food the other was carrying. The resulting blast hit the bag dead on, reducing it to cinders.

"What the…? How did you do that without repeating the spell?!" said Soifon, shocked.

"It was the first Soul Reaper spell me and my other half learned. We practiced it so much that we no longer have to say the entire spell to use it," said Dark.

"I'll tell you what. Since you've already proven that you have what it takes to handle the training, then if you take the same classes at the Academy like everyone else I'll let you join," sighed Soifon reluctantly.

"Deal. I knew going on ahead of the others was a good idea!" grinned Dark. Marechiyo went up to him mad; he wanted Dark to pay for destroying his bag of crackers. Dark's response?

_

* * *

WHAM! Dark nailed the man with an uppercut and sent him flying across the compound. He looked at Soifon who was a bit startled._

"And just to warn you now, I can handle taking orders from you and the others, but that fat moron is someone I'll never listen to," warned Dark. Soifon thought the comment over for a second and said, "I can live with that. Care to explain why?"

"I normally don't enjoy being told what to do, but I decided to set that aside when I wanted to come here. But I won't listen to those who have NO idea what they're doing! You and everyone else are at least on the same skill level as I am, but he sure as hell isn't."

"Fair enough. Even though he is my second-in-command…" said Soifon as she walked away.

"Yikes…how'd a half-wit like him pull that off?!" snorted Dark as he watched the other get up.

"Beats me," shrugged Soifon. She shot him a look that said, "Are you coming or not?"

Dark followed her a bit like a lost puppy; she had everyone stand down and return to what they were doing.

-----

As Soifon filled out the paperwork, Dark waited patiently as he had NO idea what he was supposed to do. Soifon finished and said, "You might as well go get your uniform. The next round will take a while."

"Oh joy…sleeves," mumbled Dark under his breath. (Guess who heard the remark.)

"Unless you'd rather have your current outfit retrofitted for the division," said Soifon dryly. Even she had to admit it was close enough to the standard uniform that he could get away with it.

"That I could live with," shrugged Dark. She had one of the men, who had nothing else to do but train, lead Dark to the room where they held the uniforms. The seamstress agreed to retrofit Dark's outfit so that it would allow him to walk around without worrying about the other Soul Reapers coming after him.

-----

He wore a spare uniform until it was ready; in the meantime, he decided to train with the others while he waited. Soifon went to watch as Dark trained with the others; she noted something interesting. When he fought with them earlier, he gave taunts about how they would never catch him. But now he was giving them pointers on how to improve their game. His advice (much to her amusement and surprise) actually did help them in their training.

Three hours later, Dark returned to the room to pick up him new uniform. (Much to his surprise they had actually made at least six spares of the outfit.) He thanked them and said, "I wondered why it was going to take so long. Thanks!"

He switched into his old outfit and much to his surprise, it was highly comfortable. He ran into Soifon who had been waiting for him.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You start classes tomorrow morning. What I'd love to know is how you got so good at fighting and sneaking around."

"I was a Phantom Thief before I finally came here. The people I lived with actually set up these traps for me everyday, without fail. I had to go through them every time I left for school and when I returned," said Dark, half-lying. He knew exactly what she'd ask next.

"What sort of traps? Maybe you could set up a course for the others to try."

"Mostly it was lasers, trap doors that opened up to a bottomless pit, floor sensors, electronic and normal locks, as well as several other surprises," replied Dark.

"Think you could set up a demonstration for me? I might let you put everyone else through the paces," said Soifon, interested.

"Sure. I'd be glad to," said Dark.

* * *

Two hours later…

"So these are the traps you had to go through every morning?!" said Soifon in surprise. She never expected it to be so complex!

"More or less. Though they weren't as big of a challenge as I'd like," said Dark.

"Let's see how well you can get through them. I want a demonstration of how difficult this really is."

In less than five minutes, Dark had gone through the traps effortlessly and without any indication that it was really hard. Soifon was mildly impressed. As Dark walked up back to her, she said, "Mind if I give this a try? This looks interesting…"

"I only made it appear easy because I'm used to this sort of thing. But if you want to give it a try, be my guest. Just watch out, because this is a lot harder than you might think," warned Dark. He reset the traps and let Soifon give it her best shot. (Not surprisingly, she didn't make it to the end. The bottomless trap door caught her completely off-guard.)

"I did warn you," Dark said as he helped her out of the safety net. He had placed that in there just in case someone _did _fall into the hole.

"I wasn't expecting that hole to open up that fast," admitted Soifon surprised.

"So what did you think?"

"It was very interesting…and possibly a little bit fun. It definitely kept me on my toes, that's for sure," said Soifon impressed.

"Think the others would survive? I was actually impressed you survived all the other traps except the hole," admitted Dark.

"I think that this would be an excellent way to keep their reflexes at top shape. I'll see if I can convince those R and D fools to lend you a hand."

"R and D? As in the twelfth division?!" said Dark in shock. (He remembered the last time he had to deal with that lot!)

"What's wrong?" asked Soifon, surprised at his reaction.

"Let's just say me and my other half have a history with _that _lot," said Dark, picking his words carefully.

"What sort of history?"

"The idiot in charge of them sent at least three squads after us and they wouldn't stop harassing us. Then he gets stupid and tried to kill one of our close friends to use as research!" said Dark, still mad about the incident.

"I do recall Mayuri getting in a lot of trouble for attempting to kill a human before his time. And for sending three squads to the human world without the consent of the General."

"I hope he got what was coming to him."

"He just got reprimanded and lost funding for all of his personal projects that weren't necessary. He was livid about that," smirked Soifon. (Does ANYONE from the Seireitei even like the 12th division captain? If you don't count his assistant captain that he created anyway!)

"I can live with that," grinned Dark evilly.

* * *

"They want us to _what?!_" said Kurotsuchi in mild surprise.

"The Special Ops commander requested that we lend their new recruit a hand in creating a course to put the division through for training," said Nemu.

"And why would I want to do that?" snorted Kurotsuchi.

"Here's the list that Soifon-taicho sent us. She asked if we'd help set them up."

"What list?" asked Kurotsuchi as he looked at the piece of paper. His eyes went up a bit at the items. He never expected any of the captains to ask for help in setting up what he assumed was a trap-training course.

"Well, well, this is certainly unexpected. Tell that infuriating woman that I will actually consider her request," snorted Kurotsuchi.

"Hai, Kurotsuchi-taicho," said Nemu.

* * *

"I should have anticipated this. He seems a bit reluctant to help right now…though it looks like the items you mentioned _did _catch his interest."

"Can you do us both a favor? Keep him out of my striking range if he actually agrees to help. I can't guarantee that I won't try to _repay_ him for nearly killing my friend and sending those fools to get us," said Dark.

"Warning noted," replied Soifon dryly.


	15. Trap course for the unwary

**Trap-course for the unwary**

"Soifon-taicho, why did you let that ryoka brat join the division?!" whined Marechiyo.

"He's not a ryoka anymore, he's one of us. And as for why, do you really need to ask?! He has the same moves as we do, if not better."

"But he's a ryoka! Why aren't you locking him up?!"

"He's given me a good reason not to. And since you're the one who's so keen on putting in a cell, you're going to be the first to go through _it_."

"What's it?"

"You'll find out soon enough once those lazy R and D idiots finally set it up," snorted Soifon. This shut up her assistant captain quite effectively.

* * *

When Ichigo and his (soul?) finally broke through the barrier, Dark paid them enough attention until the ball split. Then he went back to work. (The Research and Development teams _finally_ agreed to help make the course.) He hummed a bit while he set the lasers. The R and D people seemed amused that he was going to put his comrades through this little course. They all wanted to see what poor unfortunate fool would have to go through it first. 

"What…what is this?!" asked Marechiyo nervously.

"This is _it_. And guess what…since you _volunteered_, you get to go through first," snickered Soifon. She could tell right away that he wasn't planning on going through, so they gave him some incentive. Dark whispered his evil idea to Soifon, who agreed wholeheartedly.

"If you go through and _finish_ the course then you won't have to do anything for two weeks," said Soifon.

"What do you mean anything?"

"You won't have to do any work for two weeks…if you can go through and finish the course," repeated Soifon. (She was trying not to laugh; she knew he'd take the bait.)

"So what do I have to do?" asked Marechiyo.

"You just have to go through and complete the course. Of course, that isn't as easy as I make it sound…there're traps set up all through it, and you have to get past _every single one_ to make it to the end," said Dark, his eyes full of mischief.

"So where's the start?"

"Right there. You can begin whenever you want to. Since this is mostly a test-run, you won't be timed."

Marechiyo went to the starting line and began the course. Everyone on the sidelines smirked…they alone knew the true dangers of the course. He was just their guinea pig! They tried to contain their laughter as he stumbled through the traps, setting off almost every one. He finally admitted defeat when he got stuck in the hole. That was around the time that they all burst out laughing their heads off. It took them an hour before they could get around to freeing him. (They couldn't stop laughing for over 45 minutes.)

-----

"Oh man, that was soooo worth setting these up!" snickered Dark.

"And just to remind you, the deal was that you had to _finish _the trap course if you wanted to get out of doing work for two weeks. Since you got stuck…" said Soifon with an evil grin.

"That stupid course is impossible to get through! I'd like to see you or that damn boy get through it without getting trapped!" snorted Marechiyo with a hint of embarrassment.

"Is that a challenge?" said Dark, his eyes full of amusement.

"Let's see you get through it without getting caught!" snorted Marechiyo proudly.

"Let's make it interesting then. If I lose, then you'll never have to go through this again. But…if I win, then you have to join us in the training sessions out in the courtyard for two full weeks!" said Dark.

"Deal."

"You can start at any time Dark!" yelled Soifon. (She knew this would be good!) The R and D watched in interest as Dark stretched a bit before bolting straight into the course. Not only did he get through it, he also managed to NOT set off over half the traps! Their eyes widened in pure shock; he made the course look easy!

"Looks like you're going to join us in the sparring sessions. And you _will _have to defend yourself. We're not going to cut you any slack!" smirked Dark.

"I'm going to give this a try next. This looks like it'll be more fun than your original one," said Soifon. She went through the course and managed to finish it…albeit with a bit of difficulty.

"So, Soifon-taicho, what was your personal favorite?" asked Dark casually.

"I'd say the part with the poles shooting at me from the walls. That was fun."

"I bet I know the least favorite…" chuckled Dark.

"Take a guess, if you dare."

"Trap door with the pit. I say you liked that one the least."

"You're right. How'd you…?"

"It was the only one you had actual difficulty with. Aren't you glad we only put ONE in?" he joked.

"You better not add more without warning me first," she growled.

"So boys, how'd you like the show?"

"Hilarious. I'm still confused as to what this is for though," said the other.

"Training exercise. You know, to keep everyone on their feet during times of peace," said Dark.

"Ah…"

"I'd say that we start putting them through their paces tomorrow. It'll be a little surprise for breakfast," snickered Soifon; she turned and looked at the other two, "You two better not warn them!"

"Are you kidding?! I want to see the looks on their faces when you tell them!" laughed Dark. Marechiyo tried to avoid annoying his captain if he could help it; she tended to beat him up if he made her mad!

* * *

"Everyone, I have some news for you. Thanks to the suggestion of our newest member, I have allowed him to make a training course that _everyone_ must go through. This will keep everyone at their best even during times of peace. You'll begin after lunch!" said Soifon at breakfast the next morning. She really enjoyed the look of complete shock on their faces. 

"And since my assistant captain lost the bet during the test run, he will be joining you in the courtyard for sparring matches. Here's a little advice; no one will get into trouble for beating him up during the matches. That is all!" said Soifon. (Now everyone looked like Christmas had come early!)

_-----_

_Marechiyo went into hiding before breakfast. He didn't want to have his ass handed to him in the courtyard by the others. Too bad he didn't count on Dark finding him and getting some help dragging him to the courtyard!_

-----

"So nice of you to join us for once, Assistant captain Marechiyo," said one of the others. (You could tell at a glance they were going to enjoy this.)

"So how long will he join us, Dark?" asked another.

"Two full weeks, starting today. You should have been at the new course yesterday! He _volunteered_ to be the first one to try it out and he got stuck! It was hilarious!"

"How'd you get him to do that?!"

"I gave the captain an idea. She said he wouldn't have to do _any_ work for two weeks if he went through the course and finished it. Naturally, he got stuck and it took us an hour to get him free."

"It was that bad?" said the others in dismay.

"No, it just took us 45 minutes to stop laughing long enough to get him out," replied Dark. Everyone else burst out laughing…at Marechiyo. Then they nearly beat the crap out of him just for fun until after lunch.

* * *

Everyone went to the designated spot; they all look wary at the little course. Some of the traps were left visible on purpose, to give them a good idea of what was to come. Dark and Soifon grinned; then she turned towards her troops and said, "All right men, this is the training course that everyone must go through. And before I hear any complaints, I'll have you all know that I myself went through it with minor difficulty." 

This gave everyone a sense of hope; if she could get through it, then so could they. Dark decided to start the test, "All right, so are there any questions as to the course?"

Only one person raised their hand.

"Yes?"

"How dangerous is the entire course? Is there any danger of getting killed?"

"This is the first stage of the course; none of the obstacles are life-threatening. However, I would advise you all to avoid the lasers to the best of your ability, because if you get hit by them, they _will_ hurt like hell. I set the course on level one, so no one should get killed…yet. Who wants to go first?" said Dark. The one who raised their hand stepped forward.

"I'll go," the girl said nervously.

"All right then. Follow me to the starting point," said Dark as he led the girl to the line. He looked at her before saying, "If you want to do your best, I recommend stretching a bit before you start."

-----

She took his advice and then started a minute later. She made it all the way to the trap door; then she narrowly avoided the pitfall. She pulled herself over the ledge and then finished the rest with little difficulty. Dark gave her a hand at the finish line; she almost tripped on the wiring.

"Well done. Whose next?" said Dark.

The list of the willing jumped exponentially; the girl was well known as a klutz, so if she could make it to the end, they could too! Dark watched them all go through, and unbeknownst to them, he had been secretly keeping a tally chart of the traps success rate. (The one with the highest 'screw-up' rate, as he called it, was the pitfall trap.)

* * *

"So how did they do?" asked Soifon. 

"A good number of them made it to the finish with some problems, but most of them messed up pretty bad. Want to see the chart? I kept track of how many fell for each," said Dark. (He had also counted how many actually went through the course.)

"Looks like my favorite trap had the highest number of failures," said Soifon sarcastically.

"I would have listed the problem areas for each person, but since I hardly know their names…" said Dark with a shrug.

"After everyone gets used to the idea of doing the course, then we'll have everyone who goes through it write their name and number down. That way we'll keep track of the problem areas."

"Sounds perfect. But why a number?"

"I was thinking of numbering the amount of people who go through it per day, to keep track."

"Bet that'll keep the R and D guys happy."

"It'll also keep the First Division captain off my back when he finds out you're a ryoka. Once he sees how you've actually improved my squads, he won't be so eager to kill you," said Soifon.

"There's a comforting thought," Dark replied sarcastically.

* * *

The girl who went through the course first went up to Dark and asked if she could go through again. She was determined to do better on the second run. He agreed, then asked, "What's your name?" 

"It's Kishimoto, Yukiru."

"Well Yukiru, you can try again tonight," said Dark.

"Why not now?"

"Because everyone else is still trying out the trap course. Tell you what, I won't keep my usually tally of problem areas…just this once though, okay?"

"Hai, Dark-san."

"Ready when you are, Yukiru!" said Dark. Once again, she stretched a bit before she started. This time, she didn't fall for the pitfall; she jumped before the tiles even began to fall. She went through the course with few problems.

"Not bad! I'm impressed on how you managed to improve so fast!" whistled Dark.

"Thanks…I usually don't do things this well…"

"Why didn't you do this good the first time? Was it because you were nervous?"

"No…I guess it was because I sometimes do better when no ones watching me…" mumbled Yukiru.

"So you become a bit of a klutz when people are watching? I wonder why," said Dark.

"I was teased a lot back in the Rukongan."

"That explains a lot. Want to see how well I do at this?"

"Definitely…I want to see how good the new guy really is. I wasn't here when you joined."

Dark flew through the course, not setting off any of the traps. Yukiru had her mouth wide open when he came out.

"How…how did you…?!" she said dumbfounded.

"Not only was I one of the people who set this whole thing up, I was also the one who gave Soifon-taicho the original idea. I used to be a Phantom Thief before I came here."

"No way!"

"Yup."

"Is that why the captain let you get away with wearing that outfit?"

"I guess…that and she could probably tell that I don't do as well with sleeves. So how good are you at sparring?" asked Dark, changing the subject.

-----

The next day, Dark and Yukiru were sparring nonstop until lunch. Then he left to do his usual tally chart of screw-ups on the course. Only 50 people had yet to take it, and he was determined to finish it before dinner. When everyone had finally gone through it, he went to Soifon.

"All right, so what're the final results?"

"Seems that most of them have trouble with the same one you did… But overall it looks like everyone is almost at their best. Once we can finally get to the second stage, then I'll say that they've improved overall. But I won't let them go there until_ everyone_ passes the test without falling for the traps. They can set them off, just not fall for them and fail. Should everyone include Marechiyo the fool?"

"It will give the others an incentive to get him to work. I think that might actually do the trick."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Let's hope it works," said Dark.

* * *

**(In the next chapter we'll see what Dark truly thinks of his new home. Will he choose to return to the human world, or will he remain with the second division once this is all over?)**


	16. To stay or go

**To stay or go**

"All right everyone…now that you've all gone through the course at least once, we'll be doing this again once a week, every week. Starting next week you'll be putting your name and number down before you go. This will help us find your problem areas. Your number will be determined by the order you go in."

"Commander Soifon, when will we go to the second stage of the course?" asked one of the men.

"When everyone goes through the course without failing then we'll move on. And you can set off the traps so long as you finish the course. And when I say everyone, I mean _everyone_. No one will be excluded…that includes you Marechiyo!" said Soifon annoyed.

"I also want to warn you now about the safety net in the pitfall trap. When we get to stage 2 it will be lowered several meters. Meaning the farther we progress the deeper it gets," said Dark.

"How deep is that pit anyway?!" someone said irritably.

"Deep enough that you can't jump out of it," retorted Dark annoyed. That shut up any complaints pretty quick.

"Dismissed!" said Soifon finally.

* * *

That night, Dark decided to go stargazing outside. Instead of staying in his room and getting some rest like he should, he lay on a rooftop looking at the stars. He didn't realize that he had fallen asleep there until he found himself looking at Soifon, who seemed a little annoyed!

"What…?!"

"Mind explaining why you're sleeping directly above _my _office?!" she growled.

"Sorry! I was just looking at the stars and I guess I fell asleep. My bad," admitted Dark with a nervous laugh.

"If that idiot Marechiyo hadn't noticed you, I never would have known you were up here at all," said Soifon.

"Good thing I don't snore then…" said Dark nervously.

"Next time you want a roof to fall asleep on, do it on top of Marechiyo's room. That way if you snore then he'll be the one to suffer and not me!" snorted Soifon.

"I think next time I go stargazing I'll do it in the safety net…" muttered Dark. (Soifon heard the comment.)

"Just so long as it isn't over my room or the office, then I _don't care._"

-----

Two nights later…

"The stars sure are giving it their all tonight," said Dark aloud.

"You're right, they are," said another from the shadows.

"Whose there?!" said Dark on alert…and a certain black figure emerged.

"Oh, hello Yoruichi," said Dark, relaxing slightly. (He hates it when the feline does that!)

"So you thought tonight you'd go stargazing…even with all those Soul Reapers out there looking for you."

"They're not. They know I'm the new guy in the Special Ops, so they leave me alone. I take it Krad successfully got into the 11th?"

"More or less. He said they're his kind of people…violent and not afraid to back up their words."

"Figures. Want to join me? I got plenty of room," said Dark in a conversational tone.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," replied Yoruichi. The feline sat down next to him on his coat. They sat there for about half an hour before Yoruichi decided to strike up a conversation.

"So how do you like my old division? Was it everything you thought it would be?"

"I love it! They're a lot more fun than Daisuke and his family. And they give me more of a challenge than Satoshi ever did!" said Dark happily.

"So what will you do when this is all over? Will you stay here or will you return with Drake?"

"I…I don't know…" admitted Dark. He never seriously thought about it until Yoruichi had brought it up.

They spent the rest of the night in silence; Dark fell asleep and when he woke up, Yukiru was running towards him with a look of distress.

-----

"Yukiru, what's wrong?!" asked Dark concerned.

"Something bad happened to the trap course! Someone's tampered with the safety net and now they can't get them out!"

"What! Who would want to tamper with the safety net? I put it in there so no one would get killed if they fell into the pit!" said Dark surprised.

"We don't know…but Soifon-taicho said that she'll start an investigation once we get the men out. Four of them didn't get out of the way when the tiles collasped and they fell in. The computer says that the course had been set for level five…and they can't get it to go back!" said Yukiru upset.

"That's impossible! I deliberately set the security to make it nearly impossible to set it above level three without the password. And it would take a genius to crack that twenty digit lock!" said Dark in disbelief. There were only four people who knew the pass code…Soifon, the captain of the fourth division, the guy who helped install the software, and himself.

"Someone must have gotten through it then, because whoever it was reset the password; no one can get it to reset the system! And the R and D people said they won't help until they know how this happened to begin with."

"Tell them to hang on. I'll get them out of there in a minute!" yelled Dark as he used Shun-Po to get to the trap course in a split-second.

* * *

"Dark! Someone's…!" started one of the men.

"I heard. Someone set the trap course to level 5 and now four of our own are stuck down there with no way to get out. Yukiru told me everything," explained Dark when he saw the suspicion in the man's eyes.

"We can't get into the mainframe! Where are those damn Research and Development idiots when we need them?!" growled Soifon, pissed.

"Relax, I can get them out in a few minutes. Just get ready to pull the net up," said Dark.

"How can you get in? Whoever pulled this reset the password!"

"Always have a plan 'B'," said Dark vaguely, "Just tell them to get away from the console. I'll get us in and release the level lock."

"What're you…?"

Dark ignored her question as he inputted a password. The screen went blank for a moment before it said, _"Password clearance accepted. What do you wish to do?"_

"What!" said the others in suspicious surprise.

"Get ready to pull the net up. I'm going to release the lock!" yelled Dark. He typed the command; the computer replied, _"Manual override command verified…now releasing safety lock on net."_

They pulled the men out of the pit and then turned towards Dark. Soifon took him by the arm and said, "We need to talk…NOW."

"Before we do that, I need to turn off the mainframe. Whoever did this might try to repeat the stunt again," said Dark. He quickly logged off the mainframe and placed it under a full lock down. The only way to release it was through a vocal command made by him.

* * *

"All right, why did you do this?!" said Soifon angrily.

"That wasn't me! I was no where near the damn thing all night!"

"I remember what you said the last time. How you were going to watch the stars from the safety net!"

"I swear it wasn't me! I had to use Flash Steps just to get back here as quickly as I did!" said Dark upset. He couldn't believe she suspected him!

"Then how the hell did you get in when we couldn't?!"

"You're forgetting who you're talking to. I was a _Phantom Thief_ before I came here remember? Besides, I was the one who set the pass codes for the mainframe."

"So what if you were a Phantom Thief?! That still doesn't…"

"I added a master password to the system…I thought I might as well, since there was a good chance that someone might try to turn the level of danger up for a more challenging course."

"Why didn't you tell me that there was a master password?!"

"Because…because I didn't think someone would attempt to sabotage the course and reset the normal password. Or that anyone could figure it out without being caught. But there is a more reasonable explanation for why I added a master code."

"What would that be?" asked Soifon annoyed.

"You and I both know that there are different codes for different parts of the system. The main reason I added the master code was…because I didn't want to have to remember all of them. The chances that I'd forget the right pass code for each system were a little too big, so I added it to make sure that I could still get in just in case something happened."

"But why didn't you tell me and the others about it?"

"I thought you would remember them better than I would…if I had known this would happen I would have," admitted Dark, ashamed. Soifon could tell by his eyes that he was being sincere. She reluctantly released him.

"All right, you're off the hook for now. But I want to know who was cunning enough to get past the codes and reset them!"

"I don't know why someone would do this, or why they would want to reset the codes. What I do know is that there's no way this guy can escape your wrath. There's something I didn't tell you or the others about the mainframe…" said Dark.

"What else have you neglected to mention?"

"That there's a security camera built into the screen. Or to be more precise, the screen _is _a video camera. I wanted to make sure no one could mess around without me finding out who did it."

"So the culprit would be caught in the act on tape. How'd you manage that?" asked Soifon, interested.

"I would tell you, but I don't want the guy responsible to know how to shut it off."

-----

"All right everyone, the emergency is over. I want all of you to await my orders…it seems our friend here neglected to warn me about a security feature he installed."

"Hai!" they all said in unison.

"So how do we find out who did this?"

"Let me handle this. It'll only release the lock through my voice command, and no one else's."

"Fine."

"System Mainframe, release the locks on the server," said Dark clearly.

"_Voice recognition verified…releasing server lockdown. Next command please…"_

"Around what time did you guys try to first access the mainframe to get them out?"

"Around 5:30. Why?"

"Mainframe, show me the list of logins."

"_Error…please specify time frame."_

"From between 1 A.M. to 5:15 A.M."

"_Confirmed…one login listed. View security footage?"_

"Show the security video."

As Soifon and Dark watched, they could clearly see the culprit's face. Dark didn't recognize the woman, but Soifon did. He sensed her rage grow as soon as she realized who was behind this.

"_THAT DAMN MAYURI!!! I'M GOING TO STRANGLE THAT BASTARD IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"_ roared Soifon pissed.

"What? Who's Mayuri?"

"The captain of the 12th division and head of the Shinigami Research Institute. I should've known this was his doing!" she growled.

"But the person on the footage was a woman…"

"That was Nemu, his assistant captain and one of his experiments. She does everything he tells her to, without question."

"Yikes."

"What I'd love to know is why he pulled a stunt like this…"

"Why don't we go find out?" suggested Dark, angrily.

"Let's…" growled Soifon. They used Shun-Po to arrive outside the R and D division. The guards were shocked to see the Special Ops commander appear.

* * *

"Captain Soifon! What brings you here?!" asked the first guard.

"Where's that damn Kurotsuchi? He has some explaining to do!" she growled angrily.

"He and the assistant captain went to capture two of the ryoka intruders. I don't think they'll be back for some time," said the other guard nervously.

"Tell him that I'll be back…and that I want some answers for the stunt he just pulled!" said Soifon before they went back to the compound.

* * *

"Commander, what're our orders?" they asked, eager to get the person responsible.

"It seems one of my fellow captains was behind this morning's little nightmare. Dark and I are going to personally found out what he was thinking by pulling this," said Soifon irritably.

"Hai!" they said, dismayed that they couldn't join her.

"Everyone, go back to work! No one is allowed to use the trap course until this is sorted out! Is that understood?!"

"Hai, Commander!"

"Dark, I want you to take the four men who fell in to the Medical Ops. I want them to do a check-up on my men, just in case."

"Hai, Soifon-taicho!" said Dark, as he went to get them.

_-----_

_No way! Is that really…? It couldn't be…could it?_ Hanatoro thought as a certain thief arrived at his division.

"Four of our men had an accident in the new training course. It was the work of the 12th division captain, and we have yet to find out what his intentions were," explained Dark, before they could ask.

"You want us to perform a routine check-up on them?" asked Unohana-taicho.

"That was what the captain sent us here for. She wants to make sure that they weren't injured by what happened earlier."

"Very well. I'll have my assistant captain take them to the rooms until we're done. Are you instructed to stay until the results come in?" asked Unohana.

"She didn't say. She just told me to bring them here and have a check-up done just in case. Would it be too much of a problem if I stayed until they're done?" asked Dark.

"Not at all, so long as you don't get in anyone's way. I can have one of my seat members show you around in the meantime."

"Arigato, Unohana-taicho," said Dark respectfully.

"Yamada-san, do you have a moment to show him around?" asked Unohana.

"Hai, Unohana-taicho!" said Hanatoro quickly. (Dark's eyes went up in surprise as he recognized the other's voice.)

"Hey Hana-chan! Long time no see!" said Dark happily.

"Yamada-san, do you two know each other?"

"Hai…I stayed with him and his brother when you sent me to help that boy who was poisoned by Kurotsuchi-taicho," said Hanatoro.

"Is that so? Well you two can catch up while we check on the men you brought in," said Unohana, leaving them be.

* * *

"Dark-san, what're you doing here? And why didn't they try to arrest you?" asked Hanatoro.

"I'm the new guy in the Special Ops, Hana-chan! I came with Ichigo and the others. Though while they help Rukia I'm going to stay in the second division."

"And what'll you do when they go back?" asked Hanatoro.

"I…don't know yet. I love the Special Ops, but I also like the living world. I haven't decided whether I'll stay when this is over…" admitted Dark.

"I'm glad they're not after you, Dark-san," said Hanatoro.

"So how've you been, Hana-chan?"

"They still pick on me, but not as much as before," said Hanatoro.

"I'm glad to hear that…" said Dark.

"I really enjoyed hanging around you and your twin, Dark-san. I wish we could do that again…" said Hanatoro.

"Why can't we? I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," replied Dark. (He could see by Hanatoro's eyes that the boy was very lonely.)

"I wish you and Krad-san could stay here. I don't have many people who'll help me when the 11th division picks on me…" sighed Hanatoro.

"Um, Hana-chan…?"

"What is it, Dark-san?"

"Krad is _in _the eleventh division."

"Nani!"

"Yup…I went into the second and he went into the 11th. But I'll tell ya what…the next time they pick on you, you can come to me, okay? As a matter of fact…I think I might stay here when the others go back."

"Really?" said Hanatoro, eyes filled with hope.

"Yup…I'll make sure they won't bother as much. All I ever do back home is sleep half the time anyway. And Hana-chan?"

"What, Dark-san?"

"Do me a favor and _drop _the honorifics. You can just call me Dark if you want," said Dark with a grin.

"Hai, Dark-san…I mean, Dark!" said Hanatoro, relieved.


	17. Her 'Knight in no armor'

**Her 'Knight-in-no-armor'**

As Dark stayed in the Soul Society, he slowly began to realize something that started to bother him. It wasn't that he didn't like the Special Ops, or being a Soul Reaper and well respected…it was the fact that he was slowly beginning to change in ways he couldn't understand. The one thing he quickly noticed was that he tried his best to keep Soifon's opinion of him in high regard.

Dark couldn't figure out why he was so concerned with her opinion; after all, he didn't care less about what Riku had thought of him after that little 'accident'. So why was it that he didn't want to displease the Commander? He certainly got along better with her than he did the last 'Commander', Satoshi Hikari! She didn't constantly attempt to arrest him; quite the contrary, she went out of her way to make sure he didn't get arrested for being a ryoka!

As for her assistant captain, well, he couldn't care less about what the man thought of him. He personally thought the man was a complete idiot, not to mention a slacker. (Marechiyo certainly hadn't tried to change that!)

* * *

It wasn't until he ran into his other half that he realized the truth.

"Hey, bro! How've ya been?"

"Hey Krad…how's the eleventh division?"

"I love it. I can fight everyone and not get into trouble…in fact; their opinion of me goes up every time I break into a fight! Can you believe our luck?" said Krad happily.

"Sounds great… By the way, do you make fun of the fourth division like everyone else in your company?" asked Dark.

"Not really…seeing as how they patch up the idiots I send to them so we can fight again," shrugged Krad.

"You do remember who's in the Fourth Company, don't you?"

"Not off the top of my head. What's this about?"

"Remember that Soul Reaper who saved Satoshi from that virus the 12th captain gave him?"

"I vaguely remember that incident."

"Well it seems Hana-chan has to deal with the guys in your group teasing him. He isn't the only one either; I've noticed a lot of your comrades taunting the guys in the Medical Ops and calling them weak."

"I haven't been paying attention actually. So Hana-chan's in the fourth company?" said Krad, changing the subject.

"Yup."

"How is he?"

"He seems pretty lonely. It looks like the others are still giving him a hard time."

"Where is the fourth division anyway?"

"Why don't we go see him now? I'm sure he'll appreciate the company. And there's something else I want to ask you."

"Shoot."

"When this little headache with Rukia is over, are you going back with the others?"

"I haven't even thought about it. Why do you ask? Unless…"

"I'm not going back to the human world. At least, not for a while," said Dark.

"Does this have anything to do with Hanatoro?" asked Krad.

"No…it's just that I enjoy my life here more than I do back home. All we ever do is sleep when we're in the human world. But here, we get to have fun!" Dark pointed out.

"…"

"Why don't we go see Hana-chan," said Dark, changing the subject back.

"Lead the way bro," said Krad, relieved.

* * *

"All right, did you break into another fight again, Dark-san?" said the third seat of the fourth division, annoyed.

"Nah…we just came to see Hanatoro. Is he here?" asked Krad.

"His shift's about to end. Who should I say is here?"

"Krad and Dark. He'll remember us," said Dark.

5 minutes later…

"Hi, Dark! Hello again, Krad-san," said Hanatoro nervously. (He's always nervous around people from the 11th company.)

"You can call me Krad…I don't particularly enjoy the honorifics," said Krad.

"Is this guy from the eleventh company bothering you, Yamada-san?" asked Unohana, noticing Krad's uniform.

"No, Unohana-taicho, he's a friend," said Hanatoro quickly.

"Feh…the 4th and 11th companies can never get along!" snorted the third seat.

"Just because I'm from a division that enjoys fighting doesn't mean I can't get along with someone who heals others," retorted Krad, annoyed.

"Well this is a rarity…an eleventh company and a fourth company Shinigami becoming friends. I don't think that's happened since the Seireitei was first created," said Unohana with a laugh.

"I don't understand why the others dislike you so much. You don't seem that bothersome to me," said Krad.

"It's because we don't have strong fighting skills…" mumbled Hanatoro.

"Hey, why don't we go get something to eat? It'll be my treat," said Dark.

"Okay…" said Hanatoro quietly. They left to get a bite to eat; Dark noticed Hanatoro was still a little nervous around Krad.

* * *

"Hana-chan, just because he joined Zaraki's group doesn't mean he's changed," said Dark

"I know…but it's hard to forget he's part of the group who dislikes mine the most," said Hanatoro. (As if on cue, two of the seat members in the eleventh happen to pass by them!)

"Hey, Psycho Blond! You do know there's a fourth division lackey tagging along, right?" joked Ikkaku.

"His name is Hanatoro, and he isn't a lackey!" growled Krad annoyed.

"Don't tell me you're sticking up for this wimp!" said Ikkaku shocked.

"I am."

"Everyone knows the fourth company is full of weaklings! So why are you defending him?!" said Ikkaku.

"Because he happens to be a friend of mine. And I think it would be wise not to call him weak…unless you want to take that up with _me_," said Krad, a hint of violence in his tone. This got Ikkaku to back off pretty quick!

"You do know that everyone will be on you if you stick up for his lot, right?" said Yumichika.

"You do remember what happened the last time someone pissed me off by making fun of my hair color, right?" countered Krad.

"True…see you at the barracks for dinner, Krad," said Yumichika.

"Until then."

"Thanks…" mumbled Hanatoro.

"What're friends for? Just because you can't fight like us doesn't necessarily make you weak. Remember that mirror we gave you before?"

"Yeah…I have it with me wherever I go," said Hanatoro.

"Well, if you get picked on by my division again, you can use that to show me who it was. All you have to do is let the mirror reflect their image and I'll do the rest," said Krad.

"Okay."

When they returned to the fourth division, Hanatoro had to leave. It seems there was a routine patrol and he was on it, since it involved _all_ seat members. He said goodbye, and they split up shortly after that. Dark returned to the compound, and a thought occurred to him. Whenever he thought of the captain, he felt like he had to protect her.

* * *

"Aw crap…I should've realized it sooner!" he muttered. When night fell, he went stargazing again; and yet again Yoruichi joined him. (They had a routine…whenever he went stargazing Yoruichi would show up and take a nap on his coat. It provided the perfect cover for the feline, since his fur matched the color of his coat.)

"So, what have you decided? Will you remain here or leave with the others?" asked Yoruichi, who decided to break the silence.

"Stay. And there are two reasons…the main one being that I can't stand people making fun of my friend Hana-chan," said Dark.

"Who's that?"

"Hana-chan is my nickname for a fourth division boy named Yamada Hanatoro. I call him Hana-chan for short," explained Dark.

"And what's the other?"

"Heh…did you know back in the old days, when Krad and I were still young, they used to have this weird practice for 'knights'?"

"What?" said Yoruichi confused. (Dark changed the subject for a reason.)

"The humans called it the Dark Ages…and here's something I never could understand. The knights had this little practice where they would carry a woman's colors into battle, as a way to protect their honor…or something. The thing is, even though they did whatever they could to get in the woman's favor, they could never have her. I never could figure out what that was about."

"What's your point?"

"Well…whenever I'm around the captain, it sorta feels like that. Don't ask me why, 'cause I still haven't figured it out myself."

"So basically you'd do anything to stay in her favor, even though she can never return your feelings for her? Seems pointless if you ask me…but then again humans are strange creatures…" said Yoruichi.

"That is a _major_ understatement," chuckled Dark. (Unbeknownst to them, someone overheard their conversation…and his name was Marechiyo!)

* * *

Soifon approached Dark the next day…and she was a bit annoyed.

"What's up, captain?" asked Dark.

"The fat idiot tells me you were talking to a cat last night. And that it actually talked back."

"What's the problem? I know a bird who can speak human, and it never bothered anyone. Besides, it's not my fault the fur ball has some sort of sixth sense for when I go stargazing!" said Dark nervously.

"That may be, but there is a wanted fugitive from the Seireitei who disappeared over a hundred years ago who had a tendency to turn into a black cat. Her name is Yoruichi Shihouin, and I have a score to settle with her," growled Soifon. Dark's eyes widened a bit in amusement before he chuckles about something.

"What is so amusing?!"

"Nothing…other than the fact that I have no idea what the cat's name is. I just call him fur ball since he hasn't told me his name," chuckled Dark.

"So the feline is a male? If you do find out that cat's name, you better tell me," said Soifon annoyed. (Uh-oh…Marechiyo is in trouble! He-he-he…) She left to go repay her assistant captain for wasting her time.

-----

Dark waited for her to get out of his visual sight before he whispered, "You can get up now, fur ball!"

"Har-har. Why didn't you tell her the truth?" asked Yoruichi.

"Because the last thing I want to see first thing in the morning is a cat fight between you and the captain…if you'll excuse the bad pun," joked Dark.

"Surprised to find out I'm a girl?"

"Not really…girls seem to like cats more than we do. So what happened between you and the captain?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Are you coming out again tonight?"

"If the clouds don't mess up the view, you bet!"

"Later…" said Yoruichi, walking away. (She knew he'd ask the captain about what happened.)

-----

"So why are you after this Yoruichi person?" asked Dark during lunch.

"Why are you asking me now?! I'm trying to eat here!" griped Soifon.

"Let me put it this way…if I knew more about why you're after this Yoruichi woman, I might be able to convince that fur ball to tell me his name."

"Will you leave me alone?"

"You can't avoid the past forever, captain. If I can't find out from you then I'll be forced to ask around. I'd rather know the truth from you rather than hear gossip," said Dark.

"I'll tell you after lunch in my office, alright?!" said Soifon irritably.

"Okay."

An hour later…

"I'll tell you what happened on one condition. You must never let anyone know what I'm about to tell you under pain of death," said Soifon, with a look that said she wasn't bluffing.

"Standard 'this doesn't leave the room or else' scenario, eh?"

"Unless you want to deal with the First Captain and his sword, yes!"

"In that case, I think it might be wiser to prevent certain nosy idiots from listening in…" said Dark as he shot a black feather into all four corners of the room with a hushed spell. The room suddenly became deathly silent…though they could still hear a certain assistant captain's cursing right outside the door.

"How'd you know…?"

"He's a nosy twit who doesn't know how to mind his own business. Besides, unlike most people I _can _sense someone's spiritual energy even when they're doing their best to conceal it."

"I'm glad you can. You might as well sit down because this will take a while…" said Soifon.

It took over two hours, but in the end Dark finally understood why Soifon wanted to find Yoruichi so badly. A betrayal of the heart rarely heals over time. He was very tempted to tell her that Yoruichi would be with him that night, but he thought the better of it. He needed to hear both sides of the story before he meddled in her affairs.


End file.
